Stovetop & Oven

Carrot Cake French Toast

Name: Carrot Cake French Toast with Maple Cream Cheese
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 27 min
Ingredients: 2 eggs (lightly beaten); 1½ cups half and half; ½ teaspoon salt; 3 tablespoons sugar; ½ teaspoon vanilla extract; 10 to 12 thick slices carrot cake loaf (store-bought, or homemade (¾-inch thick slices)); butter (to grease the pan); 4 ounces cream cheese; 1 tablespoon maple syrup; ¼ cup powdered sugar

This decadent breakfast recipe for carrot cake french toast is a great way to use up any leftover carrot cake, but it's also a really good reason to make carrot cake to begin with!

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Why Make Carrot Cake French Toast?

First things first: carrot cake french toast is delicious! Although it is a dense french toast, it stands up very well to coating with an egg batter and frying, and the end result has so much more flavor than a regular french toast. If you like carrot cake, you’ll love carrot cake french toast.

Ingredients for carrot cake french toast on a cutting board - carrot cake loaf, sliced, eggs, half and half, sugar, salt and butter.

Leftover Carrot Cake?

Now, if you like carrot cake, the chances are slim that you’ll have any leftover, but if you do happen to have leftover carrot cake, turning it into french toast is a great way to use it up. However, carrot cake french toast is actually a really good reason to make some carrot cake. If you’re doing so and planning ahead, I suggest making a carrot cake loaf. That way, you start out with the carrot cake in a shape that makes it really easy to slice into evenly thick slices. French toast is always better with stale bread, so feel free to make the carrot cake loaf well in advance. The rest of the ingredients for this are things you probably already have on hand. The recipe calls for half-and-half, but feel free to use plain milk if that’s what you have. The extra fat in the half-and-half just helps it coat the carrot cake slices.

A slice of carrot cake loaf soaking in a baking pan of egg batter.

How Long to Soak French Toast

When making plain french toast, it’s important to soak the bread long enough for the bread to absorb some batter, but not so long that it falls apart. Generally, that’s about 20 – 30 seconds per side. Carrot cake is more sturdy than regular bread, so soak it for about a 30 – 60 seconds on each side. Stale carrot cake slices will soak up more of the batter than fresh carrot cake slices.

Looking down into a skillet with 3 slices of carrot cake french toast cooking in it.

How to Cook French Toast

You cook carrot cake french toast cooks just the same way that you’d cook basic french toast. Use medium heat and add some butter to the pre-heated skillet first. Then, cook the carrot cake for 1 – 3 minutes per side, or until it is nicely brown with crispy edges. Feel free to go back and forth from side to side until you have it just right. Storing cooked pieces in a low (170˚F) oven is a good idea, or serve it right away.

Looking down into a bowl of maple cream cheese with a whisk sticking out of the bowl and ingredients around.

Maple Cream Cheese Topping

For me, one of the best parts of this carrot cake french toast is the maple cream cheese dollop that goes on top. This sort of replicates the icing of carrot cake, but it doesn’t take the place of maple syrup. Dollop some maple cream cheese on top of the french toast slices, or let people serve themselves. Then dust with powdered sugar and drizzle some maple syrup on top. It’s a decadent breakfast, but oh-so-good!

A hand pouring maple syrup over carrot cake french toast with a dollop of maple cream cheese on top.

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Carrot Cake French Toast with Maple Cream Cheese

Nutrition Info Print Recipe

Prep Time: 15 m
Cook Time: 12 m
Total Time: 27 m
Servings:
4
to 6 people

Ingredients

2 eggs lightly beaten
1½ cups half and half
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
10 to 12 thick slices carrot cake loaf store-bought, or homemade (¾-inch thick slices)
butter to grease the pan
4 ounces cream cheese
1 tablespoon maple syrup
¼ cup powdered sugar

Instructions

In a wide and shallow bowl, beat the eggs, half and half, salt, sugar, and vanilla extract until well combined.
Pre-heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. While the pan is heating up, soak the first batch of carrot cake slices. The slices should soak in the batter for about 30 to 60 seconds per side.
Add about 2 teaspoons of butter to the skillet and let it melt. Transfer the carrot cake slices from the batter to the skillet, and cook each side until it is golden brown – about 1 to 2 minutes per side. While each batch of bread is finishing, soak the next batch of carrot cake slices in the batter, and repeat this step until all the carrot cake has been cooked.
While the French toast is cooking, whip the cream cheese with the maple syrup and powdered sugar until it is well combined and spoon-able. Serve the maple cream cheese in a bowl with the French toast so people can put a dollop on their plate along with some maple syrup.
You can hold the finished French toast warm in a 200˚ F oven, but it is better to serve it immediately.

Enjoy,

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