Creamsicle-stuffed French toast

One of my favorite treats growing up was my Mom-mom’s French toast. It wasn’t fancy and it only required a handful of ingredients, but she always made the best. She even used inexpensive, store-brand soft, wheat bread but it didn’t matter. Her eggy, creamy, cinnamon-y soaking mixture for the bread was the secret weapon, plus I know she griddled those soggy toasts up with lots and lots of butter. And she even served it with good old Aunt Jemimah syrup. No pure maple anything here, just lots of sugar and corn syrup. Thankfully, we as kids didn’t care. We loved every drop of Mom-mom’s French toast we could get. In fact, every time my brother and I would spend the night at Mom-mom’s, it was a given we would have French toast for breakfast.

I haven’t spent the night at Mom-mom’s in ages and I haven’t had her famous French toast in years either…although, if I asked her now, she’d jump right to it! While I wouldn’t even be able to eat her special breakfast, I do sometimes miss the nostalgia of taking all nigh to build couch-pillow forts in her living room, falling asleep inside the forts, and waking up to the smell of sweet cinnamon bread bliss.

Come to think of it, I honestly have not been able to enjoy anyone’s French toast in so many years! It’s so hard to find a vegan, gluten-free version that isn’t something boxed or frozen. Whenever I get a hankering for something, I usually try to devise a “Mandy-friendly” version myself. I love the classic French toast, but something inspired me to stuff my French toast. Maybe it was because I bought some vegan cream cheese from Sprouts the other day and I thought to myself, “Mmmm I bet this would be good stuffed inside a French toast!” I just concoct recipes in my head all day. And with a cream-filled center, why not pair it with something citrus, like a creamsicle? Hubby loves creamsicles, so I figured he’d enjoy this recipe as well.

I bought a loaf of vegan, gluten-free bread, which by the way is very difficult to find as gluten-free bread is often made with eggs. I smothered four slices open-faced with my favorite vegan cream cheese, Miyokos, and then slathered on the best citrusy jelly I could get my hands on, Neat Nick Preserves Creamsicle Jelly. This jelly is by far the most unique orange jelly you could imagine and it was just perfect for my recipe. Far from being a classic, pulpy marmalade, this jelly, made with orange juice and sugar, is smooth and flecked with fresh vanilla bean. Absolutely a divine combination for my cream cheese filling.

I sandwiched the bread together, jelly and cream cheese tightly secured inside, and then soaked each in a mixture of almond milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract. Once the sandwiches were chilled and ready to griddle up, I browned both sides in coconut oil and served them with fresh maple syrup (the real stuff!)

Oh my! I was immediately brought back to Mom-mom’s house! Those wonderful French-toasty flavors were a rollercoaster for my taste buds. Hubby didn’t grow up with Mom-mom’s French toast, but he sure enjoyed my creamsicle-update to the classic he grew up with too. A breakfast treat we could both enjoy!

Orange & cream stuffed French toast

4 slices vegan, gluten-free bread (such as Little Northern Bakehouse brand)
2 oz. Miyokos plain vegan cream cheese
½ cup plain, unsweetened almond milk
¼ tsp. cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. Neat Nick Preserves Orange Creamsicle Jam
1-2 Tbsp. Coconut oil
For serving: pure maple syrup (optional)

Soften the vegan cream cheese by bringing it to room temperature and mashing it with a fork until you achieve a spreadable consistency. Lay out 4 slices of bread as if preparing open-faced sandwiches. Spread ½ oz of cream cheese on each slice of bread. Then, spread 1 Tbsp. of the Neat Nick Preserves Creamsicle Jam on top of the cream cheese of two of the slices of bread (1 Tbsp. per sandwich). Place the other two non-jellied slices of bread cream cheese-side down on top of the bread slices with the jam to top off the sandwiches. Refrigerate for about 10-15 minutes to firm up and set everything together. Meanwhile, prepare the French toast bath. Whisk together the almond milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Melt the coconut oil on a griddle pan at medium-high heat. Submerge one sandwich at a time into the almond milk mixture and flip over to ensure the entire sandwich is saturated in the bath. Place one sandwich at a time onto the griddle and brown for about 2-3 minutes on both sides. Serve immediately as is or with maple syrup.