Half Baked Harvest's Baked Strawberry and Cream Stuffed Croissant French Toast

It's pretty hard to beat this Baked Strawberry and Cream Stuffed Croissant French Toast. Not only is this french toast easy…it's better than any other french toast you've ever had. Yep, bold but true! Soft, buttery, flaky croissants, stuffed with strawberries and extra creamy, cream cheese. Then baked in an eggy french toast "batter". It's the perfect (make-ahead) brunch entrée for both spring and summer. And it's super pretty when topped with a dollop of whipped cream, berries, and a nice drizzle of maple. No one will pass up this french toast!

I opened up Pinterest to see a photo of french toast dressed in powdered sugar and berries. Suddenly, I felt like making french toast. But instead of just regular ole' french toast, I'd make it extra special for Mother's Day. I decided I'd bake it, because let's be real, standing at the stove flipping french toast all morning is not what I want to be doing. I think we can all pretty much agree on that.

(photo via Tieghan Gerard of Half Baked Harvest)

And that's when this fun idea was born.

Using croissants for french toast is nothing new to me, I've done it before. But this time, I wanted to try something different. I want to leave the croissants in their same shape and form, but instead, stuff them with berries and cream, and then bake them on a baking sheet to allow them to caramelize a bit in the oven.

At first, I wasn't sure how everything was going to play out. But honestly, I might never make french toast any other way again. This is so easy, but looks crazy impressive, and most importantly, it's delicious.

(photo via Tieghan Gerard of Half Baked Harvest)

here are the details

For the french toast batter, it's simple…eggs, milk, and vanilla. My secret here is a splash of St. Germain, which is elderflower liquor. It's a very subtle floral flavor that I find pairs perfectly with strawberries. If you have it on hand, it's a must. If not, just use vanilla and maybe add a pinch of cinnamon.

You'll want to find yourself some croissants, it's best if they're nice and flaky, but on the smaller side. If possible, let them sit out for a day. But honestly, I usually just buy them fresh and then make the french toast! Anyway, take the croissants and make a small slit in each to create a pocket for the berries and cream.

Next, swirl the cream cheese with your favorite strawberry jam, then stuff the mix into each croissant. Sounds fancy, but I promise, it's easy.

(photo via Tieghan Gerard of Half Baked Harvest)

From here, butter up a baking sheet. Now dip each stuffed croissant into the egg batter, and arrange on the baking sheet. Here's the added bonus to this recipe. Once the french toast has been dipped, you can cover the pan and keep it in the fridge overnight, then in the morning – bake!

Very convenient for early mornings!

(photo via Tieghan Gerard of Half Baked Harvest)

here is the secret…

It's simple, first, mix butter with brown sugar and maple. The secret is to spoon that brown sugar and maple butter sauce over top of the french toast about three-quarters of the way through baking.

As the french toast finishes baking the sugar and butter caramelize overtop of the croissants creating a caramelized outer layer with the softest, eggy, creamy insides.

It is DELICIOUS you guys.

I will note, you may need to spoon some of the maple butter sauce off of the sheet pan and over the french toast, as it will slide off a bit. But other than that nothing is tricky!

(photo via Tieghan Gerard of Half Baked Harvest)