Ingredients
- 10 medium sized croissants cut into large chunks
- 2 C milk or half-and-half
- 1 TSP vanilla extract
- 6 large eggs
- ¼ C light brown sugar, plus 1 TBSP
- ½ TSP cinnamon
- ¼ TSP salt
- 8 ounces softened cream cheese
- 2 TBSP confectioners’ sugar, plus one more for dusting
- 2 Cups Bobalu strawberries, cut in halves
- 4 TBSP cold salted butter, sliced
Directions
Butter a 9×13 casserole dish and set aside. In a medium size bowl, whip the cream cheese with a hand mixer until soft and fluffy, then mix in confectioners’ sugar and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together milk, vanilla, eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Dip half the croissant halves into mixture until fully coated. Arrange half the croissants into prepared casserole dish, overlapping. Dollop the cream cheese mixture over the first layer of croissants. Spread ¾ of the strawberries over the top. Dip the remaining pieces in the egg mixture and arrange over berries. Pour remaining milk/egg mixture over the casserole, gently pressing to absorb. Sprinkle the remaining berries over the top of the casserole. Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an hour – and up to overnight.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and remove dish from refrigerator, remove plastic wrap. Lay thinly sliced butter over the top of the dish and bake 40-50 minutes, or until French toast is golden and crisp. (if croissants brown too quickly, lightly cover with foil. When done, let stand for 10 minutes then dust with powdered sugar, cut into wedges, and serve with maple syrup. Thanks Olive and Mango for this delicious recipe.