Stuffed French Toast

If you’d like to keep the French toast warm between batches, preheat your oven to 225 degrees F.

Prepare the cream cheese filling: In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, jam, vanilla, and salt.

Assemble the stuffed French toast: Spread 1 side of each of the 12 slices of bread with a layer of the cream cheese mixture, dividing it evenly between each and leaving a 1/4-inch border around all sides.

Arrange a layer of strawberry and banana slices on top of 6 of the slices. (It's okay for the fruit to overlap a little bit).

Lay the remaining 6 slices on top, cream-cheese side down, to create a French toast “sandwich.”

In a shallow baking dish or bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla extract.

To cook the French toast: Heat a large non-stick skillet or griddle over medium-low heat (about 325 to 350 degrees F on an electric griddle). Melt butter in the skillet, or coat with nonstick spray. Working one or two at a time, dip each sandwich in egg mixture, turning it a few times to thoroughly coat. If your bread is very dense and doesn't readily absorb the egg mixture (mine was), let the sandwich sit in the egg mixture for 10 to 20 seconds on each side to give the bread time to absorb it (the sandwiches shouldn't be completely soggy, but you do want the egg mixture to penetrate more than just the very outsides; if your bread is very dense, it may need closer to 30 seconds a side).

Lift up each sandwich and allow any excess mixture to drip off the bread and back into the bowl. Cook the sandwiches for 8 to 10 minutes, until golden on both sides and the custard is cooked through, gently flipping once halfway through. Keep the heat low and adjust as needed so that the French toast cooks and turns lightly crisp and golden on the outside but does not burn.

If desired, place the French toast on a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while you prepare remaining batches. Serve hot with toppings of choice.