Baked Berry Cheesecake French Toast

As a French Toast fanatic, I am here to tell you that this Baked Berry Cheesecake French Toast is the very best I've ever had, and it needs to be on your brunch table. It is made with soft bread soaked in a delicious custard, with dollops of fresh berry compote and a creamy cheesecake filling. It may taste gourmet, but it is really easy to make, taking just 20 minutes of active work!

Read the full blog post below for detailed notes, tips, tricks, photos and videos.

WHY YOU SHOULD TRY THIS BAKED FRENCH TOAST

Gosh, where do I even begin!

Let me just first convince you of my love for French Toast. It is my go to order whenever I go out for brunch, and I've had many different kinds. But the thing is, restaurant French Toast often leaves me less than satisfied. It is often too dry, not sweet enough, too sweet, and so on. Suffice it to say, I am picky and snobby when it comes to French Toast. So I hope you trust me when I tell you this one is *it*.

Now let's get a bit more specific:

• Baked French Toast is a lot easier to make. Let's face it, standing and pan frying one slice at a time can get tedious, and by the time you're done, the first couple batches are already too cold. So the baked version is much more hands off and simpler to execute
• This French Toast tastes gourmet. Luxury. It should be on a Michelin star menu. It is sophisticated: the perfect level of sweetness contrasted by the fresh berry compote and creamy cheesecake filling
• The texture is just right. Dryness? We don't know her. This French Toast has a crispy golden crust but a soft, moist interior - exactly how it should be. If you've ever had a good bread pudding, this is similar!
• It is a fuss free recipe, requiring only 20 minutes of active work. It may taste fancy, and there may be a few components, but each component is very simple to make with a few ingredients and steps

COMPONENTS OF BAKED BERRY CHEESECAKE FRENCH TOAST

This French Toast has 3 main components:

• The French toast part itself. I used King's Hawaiian Original Hawaiian Sweet Rolls, but you can you brioche bread too. The bread is dipped in a yummy custard which uses sugar in it, so you don't have to douse the toast in maple syrup at the end
• A cheesecake filling. This is made with cream cheese, cream, and sugar, and adds a delicious creamy tang
• Berry compote. I make a simple 10 minute compote with a mix of berries, sugar and lemon juice. It tastes amazing, but if you don't have the time, you can just use a jam you like

Optionally, I like to top off the skillet with a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon to give the French toast the golden crust we all want!

VIDEO TUTORIAL

Here's a quick video tutorial to see this recipe in action:

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PROCESS WITH PHOTOS

The detailed recipe is provided in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, but let's go over the steps with photos to help you visualize everything:

For the berry compote, cook the chopped berries with sugar and lemon juice on low heat until they start to look like jam:

Make the cheesecake filling by whisking together the cream cheese, heavy cream and sugar until creamy:

Cut up the bread into large chunks:

Make the custard by whisking together the ingredients in a large bowl:

Soak the bread chunks into the custard:

Brush butter in a cast iron skillet and sprinkle cinnamon brown sugar. Add half of the soaked bread, and dollop over half of the berry compote and cheesecake filling:

Repeat and add another layer, then top off with more cinnamon brown sugar:

Baked, and serve hot with a little maple syrup and fresh berries!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

RELATED RECIPES

If you like this recipe, you will also love the following:

BAKED BERRY CHEESECAKE FRENCH TOAST RECIPE

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5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 3 reviews

• Author: Zoha
• Total Time: 1 hour 5 min
• Yield: 8 servings

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Description

The yummiest baked French toast with dollops of fresh berry compote and a creamy cheesecake filling

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Ingredients

Mixed Berry Compote:

• 2 cup berries of choice, roughly chopped (I mixed strawberries, raspberries and blueberries)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1-2 tablespoon sugar

Cheesecake Filling:

• 8 oz cream cheese, room temp (226g)
• ¼ cup heavy cream (60g)
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar

French Toast:

• 16-18 King's Hawaiian Original Hawaiian Sweet Rolls (or sub with ~450-500g of bread of choice)
• 5 large eggs
• 2 cups whole milk (480g)
• ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
• 1 tsp vanilla

Sugar Topping:

• 2-3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon

To Serve (optional):

• Maple syrup
• Fresh berries

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Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 375F (conventional / no fan)
• Mixed Berry Compote: Mix the chopped berries, sugar and lemon juice in a non-stick saucepan. Place on low heat and cook and stir for ~8-10 minutes until the berries soften, release juice, and the mixture thickens up slightly. Mash the berries with a spatula and set aside
• Cheesecake filling: In a separate bowl, add the cream cheese, sugar and heavy cream. Whisk on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until the mixture becomes creamy and the sugar feels mostly dissolved
• French toast: Chop the rolls / bread into ~1.5" cubes. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla thoroughly until the eggs break down. Add the bread and gently toss to soak (it's ok if some of it starts to break, just be as gentle as you can)
• Sugar topping: Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl until combined
• Assembly:  Brush butter on the bottom of a 9-10" cast iron skillet, and sprinkle over 1 tablespoon of the sugar topping. Add half of the french toast mixture and spread it out, then dollop half of the berry compote and cheesecake filling on top. Repeat with the second layer. If you want, you can save some of the cheesecake filling and berry compote for serving. Sprinkle over the remaining sugar topping
• Cover the skillet with aluminum foil, and bake in the pre-heated oven to 25 minutes. Then remove the foil and continue to bake for 20-25 minutes until the French toast develops a golden crust on top
• Serve hot with maple syrup and fresh berries (or any reserved cheesecake filling and compote)

Video Tutorial:

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• Prep Time: 20 min
• Cook Time: 45 min
• Category: Breakfast
• Cuisine: American