Strawberries and cream baked French toast with piles of lightly sweetened strawberries and massive dollops of whipped cream makes for a simple, celebratory, and completely delicious springtime brunch!
Mother’s Day weekend is always a laid back affair in my house. I like to have a big bunch of peonies, piles of asparagus, and strawberries from the farmers market. We’ll make a simple brunch (more on that below), and – weather depending – grill something delicious for dinner.
A Simple, Special Mother’s Day Brunch Recipe
For a special Mother’s Day brunch, I love the ease of this strawberry shortcake baked French toast. Essentially a less sweet version of bread pudding, it’s an incredibly simple recipe.
Baked French Toast, Step by Step
To make this simple baked French toast, you’ll need a nice big (20 ounce) loaf of enriched bread, such as braided challah or brioche. Cut the bread into 3/4-inch slices and let them get a little stale. Or, toast in a 200 degree F oven for 10 minutes and then let it cool.
Next, whisk up the egg mixture, dip and arrange the bread, pour the egg mixture over the slices, and cover. You can prep this French toast the night before or early on in the morning. It just needs about 30 minutes for the bread to absorb the egg mixture.
Once the French toast is baked, smother it with loads of berries and big dollops of pillowy whipped cream. Strawberries and cream baked French toast feels special and celebratory, without much work at all!
Serve the French toast warm, but don’t sleep on the leftovers. In the fridge, the berries, cream, and bread mingle for a wonderful bread puddling-like treat.
Making Less
If you’re not feeding a crowd, halve the recipe and bake in a 9-inch baking dish for 30 – 40 minutes.
Change It Up!
There’s no need to stick with strawberries! Sub in blueberries, raspberries, mulberries, wineberries, blackberries, cherries, or a mix.
Strawberries and cream baked French toast with lightly sweetened local strawberries and massive dollops of whipped cream makes for a simple, celebratory, and completely delicious springtime brunch!
- 20 ounces brioche, challah, or other enriched bread, cut into 3/4-inch thick slices
- 6 large eggs
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 quarts strawberries, hulled and sliced, (sub berries, cherries, or peaches)
- 1/4 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon, divided
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
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Butter a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
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In a large bowl, whisk to combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla.
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Dip the challah slices in the egg mixture and carefully arrange in the baking dish on a diagonal. Use the end pieces to prop up the slices. Slowly pour the egg mixture all over the bread. Tip the baking dish slightly to make sure each piece is well-coated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or as long as overnight.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Set the baking dish on the counter to come to room temperature. Bake 40 - 50 minutes, or until french toast is puffed up and set in the center with barely golden edges. If needed, tent with foil to prevent edges from getting too brown. Cool 10 minutes.
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Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mash half the strawberries with 1/4 cup sugar. Fold in remaining berries, add a pinch of salt, and and set aside until ready to serve.
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Beat the cream just until it starts to get pillowy, add 1 tablespoon sugar, and then beat to soft peaks.
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Serve French toast topped with strawberries and their syrup and with giant dollops of whipped cream.
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Leftovers will keep covered in the fridge for 3 days.
love this dish, especially that it’s a dish that is easier to make than french toast to order! Very nice choice of ingredients too, thank you
Thanks, Sabrina!!!