Fluffy, buttery and golden slices of cinnamon French toast topped with easy but extremely delicious whipped lemon cream and sugared raspberries.
Cinnamon French Toast, I love you. The other day I was thinking about what my favorite sweet breakfast is. Pancakes, waffles or French toast? I decided it was French toast. First of all, I just love bread so that probably helped seal the deal, but also French toast is just, simply put, delicious. It’s soft on the inside, golden and crispy on the outside, buttery, eggy, and perfectly sweet. Butter yet, it’s easier to make then both waffles and pancakes. That’s a win in my book.
If there’s one more thing you should know about me, it’s that I am a brunch girl. Hands down. It’s my favorite meal to cook and eat. I just love a good brunch with family or friends. Coffee, mimosas, bloody marys, good food. How can you not love brunch?! Even better if it’s a nice summer morning and you can enjoy your brunch outside.
Typically, I am a savory breakfast girl. Hello biscuits & gravy! But, don’t get me wrong, there are times when I crave a sweet breakfast, too. I love a good waffle and pancake recipe (I’ll list a few of my favorite recipes below), but French toast has a special place in my heart.
This recipe actually evolved from my recipe: Lemon Poppy Seed Waffles with Whipped Lemon Honey Cream. We had leftover Whipped Lemon Honey Cream in the fridge, so I made cinnamon French toast and topped it with the whipped lemon honey cream. Nate and I both LOVED it. I mean really loved it. Like big dollops on the French toast loved it. Nate didn’t even use maple syrup. Just the whipped lemon honey cream.
For this recipe, I tweaked the lemon honey cream slightly, not because it wasn’t amazing, but just because why not mix it up a bit? I made the whipped cream for this recipe a little more simple because French toast is simple, and I want to keep it that way. To add to the flavor, I also topped the French toast with sugared raspberries that is an easy mix of fresh raspberries, granulated sugar, and lemon juice to balance it all out. You’re going to love this recipe as much as I do. I just know it. Now let’s get into the details so you can get cooking!
Tips & Tricks
Butter. The key to delicious french toast is cooking the french toast in butter. You can use salted or unsalted butter. I typically have salted butter on hand, so that’s what I tend to use. The salt in the butter helps to balance out the sweetness of the french toast. To cook the french toast in butter, start by melting ½ – 1 tablespoon of butter in the skillet, and continue to add more butter as necessary between batches. Alternatively, you can use olive oil, vegetable oil, or coconut oil to cook the french toast, but I highly recommend using butter because it adds another depth of flavor to the french toast.
Bread. I recommend using brioche or challah bread. Both of these breads are made with eggs creating a light and fluffy texture and both have a slightly sweet taste. I used a loaf of pre-sliced brioche bread because it was all I could find at my local grocery store. If you can’t find brioche or challah bread, feel free to use your favorite white bread. You really can’t go wrong with any type of bread when it comes to french toast. To be honest, I’ve even used a seedy bread, and the french toast still turned out delicious. It wasn’t Nate’s favorite, but I didn’t mind the seeds.
Raspberries. I recommend using fresh raspberries, but you can also use frozen raspberries; although, the raspberry juice may be a little more liquidy. Also, feel free to use whatever berries you have on hand. Blackberries and strawberries would be equally as delicious.
Cream cheese. I love cream cheese, but I know that not everyone feels the same. If cream cheese isn’t your jam then feel free to omit the cream cheese and add an extra 1/4 cup of heavy cream. The heavy whipping cream will still whip up nicely, just continue to beat the cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
More Sweet Breakfast Favorites.
Lemon Poppy Seed Waffles with Whipped Honey Lemon Cream
Hot Buttered Rum French Toast Bake
Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes with Cinnamon Honey Butter
Cinnamon French Toast with Whipped Lemon Cream & Sugared Raspberries
Ingredients
Whipped Lemon Cream
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Sugared Raspberries
- 1 cup raspberries
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
French Toast
- 10 slices brioche bread (or your favorite bread)
- 1 cup milk (I prefer whole or 2%)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (granulated also works)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Whipped Lemon Cream
- Add the cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, lemon juice and powdered sugar to a medium size bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on high speed until soft peaks form, about 3-5 minutes. Place in the refrigerator until your french toast is ready.
Sugared Raspberries
- Place raspberries in a small bowl and add the sugar and lemon juice. Mix together, smashing some of the raspberries to release their juices. Let the raspberries sit while you make the french toast.
French Toast
- In a shallow, medium size bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla until combined.
- Heat a large skillet with butter over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, dunk slices of bread into the egg mixture and place in the skillet, cooking in batches until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes per side.
- Serve immediately with whipped lemon cream, sugared raspberries and a drizzle of maple syrup.
