Overnight Cream Cheese-Stuffed Lemon French Toast with Strawberries

Mother’s Day is right around the corner! This Overnight Cream Cheese-Stuffed Lemon French Toast with Strawberries is the perfect Mother’s Day breakfast or brunch. It can be made the night before.

One of my favorite things in the universe are cream cheese filled croissants. Also right up there are strawberries and lemons together. I also love French toast made with croissants instead of regular bread because the texture is so fabulous. So…this recipe is kind of a combination of all my guilty pleasures.

Ingredients Needed

French Toast

• Croissants – You’ll need 6 large croissants. You want them a little stale/dried out so they will soak up all the custard you’ll be pouring over them.
• Cream cheese – Use full fat or low-fat, avoid fat-free.
• Powdered sugar
• Lemons
• Lemon extract
• Eggs
• Whole milk

Strawberry Sauce

• Granulated sugar
• Vanilla or almond extract
• Fresh strawberries

Garnish

• Fresh strawberries
• Whipped cream

How to Make It

1. First you’ll make your strawberry sauce. This step can be done a day or two ahead of time. Wash strawberries, remove stems and give them a rough chop. Combine berries, sugar, and extract in medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for five minutes, stirring/breaking strawberries up with a wooden spoon constantly. After five minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly (if you have a glass blender jar) and a lot (if you have a plastic blender jar). When cool enough, transfer mixture to blender and pulse until desired consistency is reached. You can also use an immersion blender, which makes things super easy!
2. Combine some softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Slice the croissants in half lengthwise and and generously spread the bottom half of each croissant with the cream cheese mixture, using all of the cream cheese mixture. Press the croissant tops down onto the cream cheese, flattening them a little. Place them into a 9×13″ pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
4. Next, whisk together some eggs, milk, powdered sugar, lemon extract, and lemon zest. Pour evenly over the croissant mixture. Cover the pan with foil and refrigerate overnight for for 8-10 hours.
5. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350. Place the covered pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 20-30 minutes or until the croissants are golden brown and all the liquid is absorbed. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 5-10 minutes.
6. Cut into squares and serve with strawberry sauce, sliced strawberries, and, if you want (how could you not want?), sweetened whipped cream.

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Cream Cheese-Stuffed Lemon French Toast with Strawberries

5 from 14 votes

A delicious overnight French toast utilizing stale croissants, cream cheese filling, and bursting with fresh strawberry and lemon.

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 minute minute

Chill Time 12 hours hours

Total Time 1 hour hour

ServingsServings12 servings

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Equipment

• 9×13 baking dish

Ingredients

French Toast

• 6 croissants large, stale
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese softened, light is fine
• 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
• 2 lemons
• 1 ¼ teaspoons lemon extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ cups whole milk

Strawberry Sauce

• ⅓ cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or almond
• 1 pint strawberries

Garnish

• strawberries fresh, sliced
• whipped cream sweetened

Instructions

French Toast

• Slice the croissants in half lengthwise. Set aside.
• In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, zest of one lemon, strained juice of one lemon (about 1 ½-2 tablespoons), and ¾ cup powdered sugar. Mix with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
• Spread the lemon cream cheese mixture over the bottoms of the croissants and then replace the tops, pressing down to flatten. If necessary, cut into halves (or even fourths if necessary; you may not need to cut them at all) and arrange the pieces evenly in a 9×13″ pan lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
• Whisk together the milk, eggs, lemon extract, zest from the second lemon, and remaining ½ cup of powdered sugar. Pour evenly over the croissants and cover with aluminum foil. Refrigerate for 8-10 hours.
• When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350℉. Bake covered for 30 minutes and then remove the foil and bake for another 20-30 minutes or until the croissants are golden brown and the liquid is absorbed. Remove from the oven and allow it to stand for 5-10 minutes. Cut into squares and top individual servings with strawberry sauce, freshly sliced strawberries, and sweetened whipped cream if desired.

Strawberry Sauce

• Wash strawberries and remove stems. Roughly chop strawberries.
• Combine berries, sugar, and extract in medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for five minutes, stirring/breaking strawberries up with a wooden spoon constantly.
• After five minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly (if you have a glass blender jar) and a lot (if you have a plastic blender jar). When cool enough, transfer mixture to blender and pulse until desired consistency is reached. You can also use an immersion blender.

Notes

Store leftover French toast in an airtight container in the refrigerator and consume within 3-5 days for best results.

Nutrition

Calories: 234kcal, Carbohydrates: 37g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.003g, Cholesterol: 50mg, Sodium: 133mg, Potassium: 176mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 25g, Vitamin A: 311IU, Vitamin C: 33mg, Calcium: 63mg, Iron: 1mg

Course: Breakfast and Brunch

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Cream Cheese-Stuffed Lemon French Toast with Strawberries

Calories: 234kcal

Author: Kate Jones

Cost: $8

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