Stuffed Strawberry French Toast

When I was a little girl, the only thing I would eat at restaurants during breakfast time was strawberry and whipped cream-covered pancakes, waffles, or French toast. I was a picky palate and my grandparents spoke my language. I was their oldest grandchild and used it to my advantage when holding a breakfast menu.

Oatmeal? No.

Bacon & eggs? No

Omelet? No.

Hashbrowns & sausage? No.

Strawberry anything and black coffee at the age of five? Yes!

Stuffed Strawberry French Toast

• One recipe of homemade whipped cream
• 8 large eggs, farm fresh is best
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup butter (for frying)
• 1 loaf high-quality white bread, unsliced
• 2 pounds fresh strawberries, cut into quarters
• 1 1/2 cups sugar

Make whipped cream, cover mixing bowl with saran-wrap when done, and place in the fridge until ready to use.

Remove & discard strawberry stems and then cut into quarters. Place in a large bowl and stir in the sugar. Using a strainer that fits well on the large bowl, quickly move the strawberries into the strainer then place the strainer on the bowl so that the strawberry juices can drip down into the bowl. Set aside.

In a shallow and large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla with a fork until well-beaten. Set aside. Cut six slices from the loaf of bread – into about 1 1/2 inch slices each. Cut each piece almost in half again as if to cut into two slices but not quite.

Melt butter over medium-high heat in a large, (preferably) cast iron pan. Give the butter your full attention so it melts and then sizzles a bit but doesn’t burn. If the pan gets too hot, turn heat to medium.

Quickly dip inside fold of one slice of bread quickly into the egg then dip the outside, making sure to coat the outside of the bread completely. Once coated, open the bread so the inside fold is facing downward and place it into a frying pan. Cook until the egg is cooked and toast is golden brown. Do NOT lift bread too early.

Test to see if it’s ready to flip first but nudging it with the spatula. If it slides freely, then peek to see if it’s golden brown. If it is, then it’s ready to flip. Fold toast in half again and toast both of the outsides of the bread until golden brown as well. Repeat until all six toasts are finished cooking. As each toast is finished, it can be placed on a baking sheet and loosely covered with foil, and placed into the oven at 170 degrees to keep warm until the others are done.

Place strawberry juices into a small saucepan using a spatula to be sure to get all the sugar and juices out of the bowl. Heat strawberry juices over medium heat and allow to simmer. Keep a close eye on the sauce to be sure it doesn’t overcook – about 3-5 minutes should reduce the juice into a loverly strawberry sauce. Set strawberries aside again until ready to assemble.

To plate, Place each toast upon a plate. Open toast up and drizzle the bottom half with strawberry syrup. Pile about 1 cup of strawberries into the bottom of toast as well. Then place whipped cream upon the strawberries. Bring the top half of French toast up and over the whipped cream.

Sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar until you smile. If desired, place a small dollop of whipped cream on top of each French toast & place one strawberry into it.

How I ended up spending my life creating a million delightful breakfasts (my least favorite meal of the day for almost forty years) I’ll never know. But I am sure of one thing… grandma-mom & grandpa-dad are up in Heaven eating strawberry-filled breakfasts, drinking Folger’s Coffee & enjoying the show.

Why “grandma-mom” and grandpa-dad”? Well, I hear their oldest grandchild was kind of a nut.