Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast sets a new standard for breakfast! It’s a baked french toast in the shape of a loaf with a cream cheese filling in the middle. Made with plain old sandwich bread, it tastes like a cheesecake french toast!
This. It’s incredible. It tastes like a cheesecake….but also like french toast. It’s soft and custardy and buttery. A little bit sweet, but not too sweet. The top of the loaf has a thick, golden crust, reminiscent of the golden crust you get from traditional pan fried french toast.
Then you have that incredible cream cheese layer. It’s SO SIMPLE, but so perfect for this french toast loaf. I got the filling recipe from Mira at Cooking LSL, from her Cream Cheese Filled Banana Bread with Coconut Oil. All I did was add a wee bit of lemon because I found the overall flavour was too one dimensional and I think having a touch of freshness from the lemon makes a huge difference.
Don’t you think it looks pretty? It’s hard to believe that something like this is made with plain sandwich bread. Not fancy artisan bread or brioche. Just plain bread, the cheap sliced stuff you get from the supermarket. Though I’m sure this would be lovely made with fancy bread….
Sandwich bread is perfect because it fits neatly into the loaf tin and provides the perfect base for creating a neat layer of cream cheese in the middle. You just dip pieces of bread in a simple egg mixture, then layer it up like lasagna. The cream cheese filling is really soft and fluffy so it’s very easy to spread. Then just top with more egg dipped bread, dollop on some butter, scatter with sugar (really worth it, creates a gorgeous crust!) and bake.
Look how easy this is to assemble!
When it comes out of the oven, it will be gloriously puffed up with a rounded top, like loafs you typically make in loaf tins. But it will deflate as it cools. I wish I could tell you to slice it up straight out the oven, but it really does need 15 minutes to rest so it can “set” and be sliced neatly. But don’t worry, it’s still lovely and warm! Having said that though, I have eaten plenty of it at room temperature, and it is just as nice. 🙂
I can’t think of anything more appropriate to pile on top of this loaf than a mass of sweet strawberries. The crowning touch, don’t you think? But honestly, it is more about aesthetics than flavour. Because this french toast loaf does NOT need the extra flavour. 🙂
OK. My diet starts next week. Next week. I promise. – Nagi
More cute spins on French Toast
We all love classic French Toast – but sometimes it’s nice to try something different!
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Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast
Ingredients
- Butter , for greasing
Cream Cheese Filling
- 250 g / 8oz cream cheese , at room temperature
- 1/3 cup sugar (white)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Egg Mixture
- 4 eggs
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp milk (low fat or full fat)
- 3 tbsp sugar (white)
- Pinch of salt
French Toast Bake
- 12 fresh slices sandwich bread (crusts removed) (Note 1)
- 2 tbsp butter , diced (optional) (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp brown sugar (optional) (Note 2)
Macerated Strawberries (optional - Note 3)
- 1 punnet strawberries , sliced
- 1 tbsp sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Generously butter a 10cm x 21cm / 4" x 8" loaf tin
- Make Cream Cheese Filling - beat (or mix) the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until combined. Then add the egg and lemon juice, then beat/mix until smooth, light and fluffy.
- Whisk the Egg Mixture ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Dip 2 slices of bread into the Egg Mixture. Because you're using fresh bread, it should soak through with egg mixture pretty quickly.
- Line the base of the loaf tin with the egg dipped bread. Cut bread if necessary to fill in gaps. Repeat twice more so you have 3 layers of egg dipped bread.
- Spread all the Cream Cheese filling over the bread. Then top with two more layers of egg-dipped bread.
- Dot surface with butter and scatter over the sugar.
- Bake for 40 minutes until golden and puffed. Check at 30 minutes - if the top is already dark golden, then cover loosely with foil and return to the oven to finish baking (this is what I did).
- Allow to rest for 15 minutes in the tin before turning out onto a cooling rack to rest for a further 5 minutes.
- To serve, topped with Macerated Strawberries.
Macerated Strawberries
- Combine strawberries and sugar in a bowl and set aside to "sweat" for at least 20 minutes.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
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I am a sucker for anything with cream cheese and I love french toast! This looks really good!
Thank you Erin! I hope you try it – it really is delicious!! N x
Just genius Nagi! You had me with cream cheese. Love the addition of the lemon to give a bit of freshness to the taste.
Thanks so much Caroline! Hope your week is going great. One more day until the weekend – yay!! 🙂 N x
If going on a diet for you means the end of posts like this one then I am going to respectfully ask on my own behalf (and in all probability that of a plethora of other fans,) please don’t do it. Also, I’m a bit confused by your question asking if we readers perceive your creation to be pretty. Is this some sort of vision exam? I pity the eyes who fail to answer in the affirmative (time for a service dog?) Seriously, great stuff here, Cream cheese, layered within sandwich bread that is then dipped in an egg wash? Perfectly mouthwatering. Please, no diet.
Hmmm, let me think about this for a minute….no diet? OK!!! 🙂 Sometimes I worry my “creations” are a bit too odd! I’ve never seen anything like this before so you know…insecurity…
Thank you for the vote of confidence Dan! 🙂 N x
This looks delicious. Everything I love first thing in the morning – calories and more calories.
I swear you could photograph the one food I hated most and I’d want to eat it.
I would print a lot more of your recipes, if I could just print the recipe, not 12 other pages of “stuff”.
Hi Pat – you can! When you get to the recipe, you will find a “Print” button under the thumbnail image. Click on that and it will remove everything else in the post except the recipe! Hope that helps!! N x
Oh yummy! Nagi, you re the queen of novelty breakfast. If you ever come to London, you cn stay with us nd make us breakfast.
Ha ha! I love it, novelty breakfasts! I should create a category for them!
OMG – Nagi – thank goodness I haven’t got time to make this morning:-)
Oh, I think your hubby should make it for you this weekend!!
OMG, what did I just come across!!! Beyond genius! Girl, I’m out of vocabulary to express my genuine awe about your creativity! Dying to try this!!!
Thanks Shinee! Don’t know about genius,s I was just hoping people didn’t think I was weird!!! 🙂
Oh Nagi! I think even my husband could make this! Very creative. Very delicious!
YES! Be subtle – just forward the recipe to him!! 😉
Wow! It looks like your 3-layer magic cake and French toast had a baby! Hmm… future French Toast post? Simply stunning! One bite and I’d be in foodie heaven!
YES! Post the BABY!! 😉
OMG!! I cannot wait to serve this at my next girl’s brunch. They will love this. You are so creative and your photos are professional quality. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe. BTW, the Pork Carnitas was out of this world. I made dinners for 3 families and they all loved it.
Hi Diane – dinner for 3 families? Gosh you are so generous!! They are so lucky to have you cooking for them!! I’m so glad you like the look of this! I wondered whether it was too weird. 🙂 I know it’s not really a breakfast! I gave it to friends as afternoon tea actually, because it tastes like a cheesecake!!! 🙂 SO GLAD you enjoyed the pork carnitas!! N x
Now this is a recipe I will make immediately! Awesome. Thank you for sharing and inspiring.
Thank you Cecilia! I wondered whether people would just think was WEIRD!!! Glad you don’t!! 😉
Nagi,
This looks fabulous, but in looking over the recipe I don’t see where you added the lemon. I’m assuming it goes into the cream cheese filling. How much did you add?
Hi Geni! Oops, I’m sorry about that! I just checked my filthy food splattered notebook – I added 2 tbsp of lemon juice. I’ve updated the recipe. But it really is one of those things were you can do a taste test then add more if you want! 🙂 Thanks so much for pointing that out!
Why, I would never ever, ever thought to have made a french bread loaf with slices of regular store bought bread – and then on top of that – sandwich this totally decadent layer of cream cheese in the middle! This is genius – but so simple at the same time – am a new reader…and I am starting to see a pattern! 🙂
Thanks so much Shashi! I wondered whether people would think I was mad for making French Toast bake like this!! 🙂
Just discovered your website Nagi. You are like the FRENCH TOAST QUEEN! I love breakfast, so this is definitely talking to me. Excited to see more of your stuff.
Oooh….I do have a problem with French Toast! I can’t help it, it’s EASIER than pancakes and so many ways to make it!! 🙂
Hi Nagi! This is truly beautiful! And so much easier than pan frying. I’ll be passing this on to my son – he’ll love it!
For him to make for YOU for Mother’s Day, right? 😉
Hi Nagi! I wish! Unfortunately, we live about four hours apart and he is a busy guy, so I usually only get to see him 3-4 times a year. We usually invade his place, with our dogs in tow. He has one of my dog’s pups and his girlfriend just got a Great Dane pup, so it will be an interesting next visit with four dogs and his cat and four people in his condo! He and I do all the cooking and baking together which is always fun!
Wow, you made it and I love it! You can never go wrong adding lemon, this french toast loaf looks perfect! Definitely trying it this weekend, because we love anything “cream cheese filled” 🙂
The filling is to die for! It’s perfect. Absolutely perfect texture for baking. 🙂 Thanks Mira!
Nagi, you are fast becoming my French toast guru!! In fact, I think you already are …
What a delight this is! It’s like a cross between bread and butter pudding (do you have that over there?), French toast and a cakey loaf. Nothing short of genius … once again!
We sure do have bread pudding!! One of my faves is at a posh restaurant over here – when you come visit, let’s go just for bread pudding!
Oh Nagi, I wake up looking at your fabulous French toast…and asking myself why I do not have a slice of this as I sip on my coffee…you are very creative…and the photos are gorgeous!
Hope you are having a great week 🙂
Thanks so much Juliana!! I often ask myself the same thing….why don’t I wake up to this every single day?!
Nagi, oh my gawd!!!! I love this!!! Who got to devour this baby?! Truly creative and inspiring!
You know what? I had it for afternoon tea with some friends!! 😉