Strawberries and Cream French Toast features buttery slices of brioche bread, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream! A fancy restaurant-quality recipe that’s perfect for Easter, Mother’s Day, or a bridal shower brunch! This recipe can easily be doubled if you’re serving a large crowd!
Strawberry French Toast
Mother’s Day is this weekend! And I know for many of you, that means you’ll be making mom a special breakfast or brunch!
So it felt like the perfect time to share this brand new French toast recipe! It’s everything you love about classic French toast… but even better because it’s topped with a to-die-for flavorful fresh strawberry syrup and melt-in-your-mouth whipped cream.
Seriously, it’s so flavorful you don’t even need maple syrup! Although I wouldn’t blame you if you still put it on the table 😉
What is Strawberries and Cream French Toast?
When I was researching ideas for this recipe, I noticed almost every strawberry French toast recipe out there is some sort of strawberry stuffed French toast. And while I love strawberry and cream cheese in something like a cheesecake… I really had no desire to eat a strawberry cream cheese mixture stuffed inside my French toast. No judgment, just not my thing!
Instead, I wanted to honor the traditional French toast, and simply enhance it a bit. So I started with my best easy homemade French toast recipe and used it as a jump off point! From there, I added a little brown sugar and a little Grand Marnier. These two little twits give the French toast incredible flavor!
And then, of course, we top it with strawberries and cream! And viola! You have strawberries and cream French toast!
Instead, I wanted to honor the traditional French toast, and simply enhance it a bit. So I started with my best easy homemade French toast recipe and used it as a jump off point! From there, I added a little brown sugar and a little Grand Marnier. These two little twits give the French toast incredible flavor!
And then, of course, we top it with strawberries and cream! And viola! You have strawberries and cream French toast!
Strawberry Syrup
Next, I developed a sticky sweet strawberry sauce that’s truly divine! I guarantee you’ll want to make it for your waffles and pancakes, too! It’s really simply to make. You basically brown a little butter, then toss in sugar, orange juice, and sliced strawberries. You’ll cook that down for a bit, then toss in a little water and cornstarch which will help thicken everything up. Finally, you’ll toss in another dash of grand marnier.
Homemade Whipped Cream
Whipped cream is so easy to make at home and tastes a million times better than anything you’ll get from a tub, tube, or spray can! You can make it up to 30 minutes in advance and pop it in the fridge.
To make it, you’ll simply add the cream, sugar. and vanilla, to a bowl and combine. Then beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form! Yup, it’s as easy as that!
French Toast Pro Tips:
Use a combination of whole eggs and egg yolks. I know someone is going to be tempted to skip this and just use all whole eggs, but don’t! My unique egg mixture creates soft and tender toast that DOESN’T taste eggy!
The easiest way to dip the slices of bread is by pouring the egg mixture into a shallow bowl or pie plate. Just be sure to use a larger size bowl, since a small bowl won’t allow you to dip multiple pieces of bread at once.
Get your skillet hot and buttery BEFORE you add the French toast. I like to start with a tablespoon of butter, and add more as needed. Butter is going to give you that golden brown exterior, so don’t be stingy! This is French toast after all, so it’s not the place to be worrying about a little more saturated fat.
Don’t undercook! I find 2 to 3 minutes per side is the perfect time for me, but keep an eye on your toast. It’s ready to flip when the underbelly is golden brown!
If your syrup is done before the French toast, you can remove from heat, then rewarm over medium low heat until it’s warm again.
To keep French toast slices warm, preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Place the cooked French toast slices on a baking sheet and pop them in the oven while you continue cooking.
Strawberries and Cream French Toast
Ashley ManilaStrawberries and Cream French Toast features buttery slices of brioche bread, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream! A fancy restaurant-quality recipe that’s perfect for Easter, Mother’s Day, or a bridal shower brunch! This recipe can easily be doubled if you’re serving a large crowd!
Ingredients
- For the Brioche French Toast:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 4 large eggs plus 4 large egg yolks
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons Grand Marnier (optional)
- 8 slices brioche
- STRAWBERRY BUTTER CREAM CAKE
- For the Strawberry Sauce:
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 2 cups strawberries, sliced, fresh or frozen, divided
- 1 Tablespoon water
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon Grand Marnier (optional)
- For the Whipped Cream:
- 1 cup heavy cream, very cold
- 2 Tablespoons confectioners’s sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Brioche French Toast:
- Melt a few Tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-heat.
- In a large shallow bowl or pie plate, whisk the eggs and egg yolks until well combined. Add in the cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugars, and whisk until well combined. Finally, whisk in the milk, heavy cream, vanilla, and grand marnier.
- Dip each slice of brioche into the egg mixture, making sure both sides are well coated.
- Place brioche slices into skillet and cook until the undersides are golden brown, about 3 minutes.
- Flip, and continue cooking on the other side until equally golden brown, about another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Continue with all french toast, adding more butter to the pan as needed.
- Serve warm, with strawberry sauce and whipped cream!
For the Strawberry Sauce:
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Continue cooking until it smells slightly nutty and is a deep golden brown.
- Stir in the sugar, orange juice, and half of the strawberries. Cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until the strawberries have softened and the juice is slightly thickened.
- In a small bowl combine the water and cornstarch, whisk until smooth. Then add it into the strawberry sauce.
- Bring back to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes, or until thickened.
- Add the rest of the strawberries and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring frequently.
- Remove from heat and stir in the Grand Marnier, if using. Spoon over French toast.
- For the Whipped Cream:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, combine the heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla extract.
- Whip until stiff peaks form. Keep in the fridge until ready to use. Best used within 30 minutes!
Assembly:
Place French toast slices on a large serving platter, or divide among individual plates.
Top with a generous portion of strawberry sauce, then top with a dollop of whipped cream!
Serve at once!
