Strawberries & Cream French Toast Casserole

Strawberries and cream is such a classic springtime combination.  And unsurprisingly, sometimes simple is best:  one of my favorite ways to enjoy the combo is simply to top some sliced strawberries with whipped cream and dig in.  However, that doesn't translate so well to breakfast (I would be hungry again in approximately 0.034 seconds).  Enter strawberries and cream French toast casserole.  This is a super simple French toast casserole base, with sweet strawberries mixed in.  I typically use milk when I make breakfast casseroles, but this time I replaced half of it with cream.  The result was incredibly rich and decadent, worthy of a special occasion.  Like say, Easter Sunday?  The sweet and bright strawberries were the perfect foil to the custardy filling, and this is going down as one of my favorite breakfasts ever.  I foresee many fruit and cream varieties being made as we head into spring and summer.... blueberries and cream?  Peaches and cream?  Go wild!

Strawberries and Cream French Toast Casserole
a Pink Parsley Original
serves 4

• 5 cups cubed French bread (day old bread, slightly stale bread is ideal)
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup sugar
• pinch of cinnamon
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries, divided
• 1 Tbs sugar, for sprinkling

Lightly grease a 9x9 inch square baking dish.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, heavy cream, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.  Mix in the bread and the strawberries.  Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, cover, and refrigerate several hours or overnight.  When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and scatter the remaining 1/2 cup of strawberries over the top.

Bake 35-45 minutes, or until the custard has set.  During the last 10 minutes of baking time, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar over the top.

Allow to cool 5-10 minutes before serving.