Strawberry Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast

This ain’t your everyday French toast. Thick Texas toast gets stuffed with a sweet, cheesecake-style cream cheese filling and fresh strawberries, dipped in a rich vanilla custard, then cooked low and slow on the griddle until golden brown and cooked through. Finish it with powdered sugar, maple syrup, and a few fresh berries and you’ve got some seriously good groceries.

Yield	Griddle Temp	Cook Time
3 stuffed sandwiches	250–270°F / 121–132°C	About 10–12 minutes

Ingredients

French Toast Custard

·        4 large eggs

·        ¾ cup heavy whipping cream / 180 mL, approximately

·        1 teaspoon vanilla extract / 5 mL

·        1–2 teaspoons dessert-style cinnamon-sugar seasoning / 4–8 g, or cinnamon sugar to taste

·        Pinch of kosher salt

·        Optional: 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar / 13 g, if you want the custard a little sweeter

Cheesecake Filling

·        1 cup whipped cream cheese / 225 g

·        1 teaspoon vanilla extract / 5 mL

·        1–2 teaspoons dessert-style cinnamon-sugar seasoning / 4–8 g, to taste

·        1 tablespoon packed brown sugar / 13 g

For Assembly & Serving

·        6 slices thick-cut Texas toast

·        6–8 medium strawberries / about 150 g, thinly sliced, plus more for serving

·        2 tablespoons butter / 28 g, for the griddle, plus more as needed

·        Powdered sugar, for finishing

·        Maple syrup, for serving

·        Fresh mint, optional garnish

·        Optional: finely grated lemon zest for the strawberry layer

Instructions

1. Make the custard. In a wide bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy whipping cream, vanilla, dessert seasoning, and a pinch of salt. If you want it a little sweeter, add the brown sugar. The custard should be rich and thick enough to really soak into the bread.

2. Make the cheesecake filling. In a separate bowl, stir together the whipped cream cheese, vanilla, dessert seasoning, and brown sugar until smooth and evenly combined.

3. Prepare the strawberries. Thinly slice the strawberries. Keep them plain rather than macerating them with sugar so they don’t release too much liquid and make the stuffed French toast soggy.

4. Build the sandwiches. Spread the cream cheese mixture generously over 3 slices of Texas toast. Arrange sliced strawberries over the filling, then top each with another slice of bread to make 3 sandwiches. If you want a little extra zing, add a light grating of lemon zest over the strawberries.

5. Preheat the griddle. Heat the griddle over low heat to about 250–270°F / 121–132°C. This lower temperature is important because the sandwiches are thick and the egg custard needs time to cook through before the outside gets too dark.

6. Butter the griddle. Melt the butter over the cooking area and spread it into a thin, even layer.

7. Dip the stuffed French toast. Carefully dip each sandwich into the custard, coating both sides and allowing the bread to absorb some of the mixture. Let the excess drip back into the bowl before moving the sandwich to the griddle. Handle gently so the filling stays put.

8. Cook low and slow. Place the sandwiches on the buttered griddle. Cook for about 4 minutes on the first side, then flip and cook about 4 minutes on the second side. Continue flipping as needed until both sides are deeply golden and the center is cooked through. You can briefly stand the sandwiches on their edges to brown the sides for a better presentation.

9. Check the center. Because these are thick and filled, don’t rush them. Cook until the custard in the center is set and no longer wet or gooey. In the video, I checked them with an instant-read thermometer and kept cooking until the center was around 160°F / 71°C.

10. Serve. Move the French toast to a cutting board and slice if desired. Dust with powdered sugar, add fresh strawberries and mint, then drizzle with maple syrup. Or pick that joker up and eat it like a sandwich. I ain’t judging.

Hussey Notes

·        Thick-cut brioche would be fantastic in place of Texas toast.

·        Keep the griddle temperature on the lower side. Too much heat will brown the outside before the custard in the center has time to set.

·        The brown sugar and sweet seasoning can make the toast look darker than plain French toast. Dark golden is good; burnt ain’t.

·        If you have leftover custard, use it to make a few pieces of regular French toast rather than tossing it.

https://youtu.be/AJOwtMavsdw