King Cake French Toast

This is such a festive and fun Mardi Gras breakfast. Our grandkids loved it too! We used the “Texas Toast” style bread.

 

Ingredients

• 5 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• pinch salt
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. allspice
• 12 thick slices French bread or Texas toast
• 6 tbsp. butter, plus more as needed
• Softened cream cheese
• Strawberry Pepper Jelly
• ½ cup Confectioners’ sugar
• Purple, Green and Gold Sanding Sugar

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 375. In large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, cream, salt, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon and allspice. Soak bread slices in custard mixture for at least 30 minutes or till completely saturated.

2. Melt a few tablespoons butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add bread in batches and lightly brown, about 2 minutes per side. Don't cook too dark, as additional browning will occur in the oven.

3. Transfer to lightly buttered, foil-lined baking sheets and bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove and turn each slice over. Put back in the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes or till browned.

4. After cooking your French toast, using your sharpest knife, cut toast in half diagonally then make a small cut forming a little pouch, fill with cream cheese and strawberry pepper jelly then layer next piece and repeat.

5. Mix 1/2 cup of confectioners’ sugar and a splash of milk and drizzle over the French toast then top with stripes of purple, green and gold sanding sugar.

(Use small ziplock bags one for each cream cheese and pepper jelly squeeze down to one corner of bag and snip the corner off forming a little pastry bag)