I have been eyeballing this recipe for a while now... It looked sooo delicious! I looooove peaches, and although strawberries are just alright on their own (in my very humble opinion), when you mix them with other flavors they can be really scrumptuous! And to top it all off, one of my favorite breakfast foods is French Toast (my Mommy used to make it for me just right). Put it all together and what do you get?? A delicious sounding concoction of delightfully sweet flavor!
Going into this I was very nervous about the whole cutting pockets in the bread thing. I suppose I had good reasn to worry...it was kinda tricky. But! I managed to get three of my six slices pocketed just fine. And the other three were definitely still useable, just with some of the filling oozing out in places. Most importantly though, it was fun to make.
Notes
- Hmm, pockets. Tips on cutting pockets... Well, the recipe says to use a serrated knife but I say use what works. I ended up using a very sharp fish-cutting knife. I started by cutting a line along the bottom of the bread slice to give myself a basic guide. Then I went back and cut deeper, trying to cut to the edges but not through them. I recommend holding the bread in your hand as you work and not laying it on the table. That way you can kind of feel where the knife is so you don't cut through the "walls" of the bread. As I mentioned, it took me about three slices to finally get a feel for it.
I really loved this recipe - it was divine in my opinion. Mr. C found it tasty enough, although he's not a fan of fruit that has been heated up. I suppose he's a bit of a fruit-purist in that way. My sister thought it was alright but said the inner part of the bread was too soggy because of the filling. So she didn't like the sogginess. But I thought it was good - I give it two thumbs up!
And here is the recipe which I found at About.com: Gourmet Foods (they have a lot of fun recipes!):
Ingredients
- 1 large ripe peach, peeled and pit removed
- 1 pint strawberries, stem removed and diced small (I didn't use a whole pint in the filling - I saved 4 or 5 for garnish)
- 4 oz cream cheese, soft
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp Grand Marnier (Optional)
- 1 loaf of brioche, challah, or white bread, unsliced (I used a round loaf of white mountain bread from the bakery)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- butter and vegetable oil for frying
- maple syrup
Directions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- For the filling: Cut one half of the peach into 1/4 inch slices and set aside for topping later. (I cut up the whole peach to use for the filling) Dice the other half of the peach into small cubes (about 1/4"). Mash together with a fork or mixer the diced peach and strawberries, 1 Tbsp sugar, cream cheese, and the Grand Marnier (if you are using it).
- Cut the bread into 1 inch slices.
- Using a serrated knife, cut a pocket in the side of each slice of bread. Try to make the pocket as deep as possible without cutting through the other side. (See notes above for tips) Place 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture into each pocket.
- For the batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and 1 Tbsp sugar.
- Heat up a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Place two or three slices of bread in the batter and let soak for 5 seconds. Flip over and soak again for 5 seconds. Remove the bread from the batter and place on a plate. Let the bread stand for 1 minute so the batter can soak in. Add a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of vegetable oil to the pan.
- Place the soaked bread into the hot pan. When you have all the slices in the pan, start soaking the next three pieces as described before.
- Cook each side until a light golden brown. Place on a cookie sheet or wire rack. When all the pieces have been fried, place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and top each serving with sliced peaches (or sliced strawberries). Serve with maple syrup.
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