Croissant French toast with lemon mascarpone cheese {two ways}

Croissant French toast with lemon Mascarpone cheese – treat yourself to this scrumptious breakfast on a lazy weekend morning, and be sure to try both the savory and sweet version.

This is what happens when you have stale croissants, and whipping cream that’s about to go bad.

The result is this luxurious breakfast of fluffy French toast croissants – one sweet, with honey, vanilla and lemon zest mascarpone filling, topped with raspberry chia sauce, and the other savory – with smoked salmon, and lemon & chive mascarpone cheese.

It’s the ultimate breakfast, or brunch treat, and if you want to spoil someone rotten, you should make this breakfast on a lazy weekend morning. I cannot honestly pick one over the other – just eat the savory first, then follow by a second serving of the sweet!

This breakfast feast didn’t happen all at once.  It evolved over the course of a couple of days.  First, I found a container of whipping cream in my fridge, that was almost at expiration date, so I decided to repurpose it into homemade mascarpone cheese, just to extend its life a bit.

It was not until the next morning when I saw the dry croissants in the pantry, that the whole breakfast idea came together.  To wake them up a bit, I decided to soak them first in eggs and milk, then French toast them.  It then occurred to me how I can use the mascarpone cheese I’d just made the previous day.  I mixed some of the cheese with a touch of vanilla and honey, then added a lot of lemon zest – I might have gotten carried away but it smelled so heavenly so I kept zesting…I tell you, magic happens when you combine lemon, vanilla and honey with buttery mascarpone cheese!

And of course, a French toast wouldn’t be complete without some sort of berry topping.  I always make quick, raw berry jams to go with pancakes or other baked goods.  I add a bunch of frozen berries on the stove, and cook just barely, until the fruit has slightly warmed up, to retain as much of the vitamins, and color as possible.  A swirl of honey for sweetness, and a couple of tablespoons of chia seeds to absorb the liquid, and the jam is done!

This time, I didn’t wait long enough for the chia to thicken it, so it had more of a saucy feel.
Mmm…the sweet and tart flavor of the raspberries, with the heavenly lemon zest and vanilla aroma, creamy mascarpone, and those soft, buttery croissants, all together in a blissful bite…just close your eyes and imagine!  It almost felt like we are having a decadent cake for breakfast.  You can go even further, by drizzling melted chocolate and sprinkling toasted almonds over it!

The second time we made those, we purposefully ‘aged’ the croissants.  This time the mascarpone was split in half after adding the zest of 2 lemons – to one half I added chives, salt and black pepper, and that became the filling for the savory one with smoked salmon.

With the other half of the mascarpone, we made our favorite sweet version with honey-vanilla, and raspberries.

The combination of smoked salmon (and even better – smoked trout!) with the savory Mascarpone filling was another hit (only with the adults of course).

You can make these with a store-bought mascarpone cheese if you can easily find a good one.  But if you can’t (and I know good mascarpone is sometimes hard to find), or if you are the DIY-type then try to make it at home – it’s very easy.  All you do is bring some whipping cream to a gentle boil, add a bit of fresh lemon juice to it, then simmer for a few minutes.  Once it cools off, you pour it over a layered cheesecloth, and leave it in the fridge overnight.  As it cools, and the whey drains out, it becomes a silky soft, luscious mascarpone cheese, and you cannot tell the difference between the store-bought version and your own creation.  Just plan ahead and know it will be ready to use in a day.

Enjoy!

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Croissant French toast with lemon Mascarpone cheese - two ways

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

5 mins

Total Time

20 mins

 

Croissant French toast with lemon Mascarpone cheese - treat yourself to this scrumptious breakfast on a lazy weekend morning, and be sure to try both the savory and sweet version.

Course: Breakfast / Brunch

Servings: 4

Calories: 355 kcal

Author: Viktoria

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 4 regular size croissants (a few days old), split in half
• 1-2 tbs grapeseed oil
• smoked salmon, or trout
• mascarpone cheese filling (sweet or savory), recipe follows
• raspberry jam, recipe follows

For the homemade mascarpone cheese:

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 Tbs fresh lemon juice

For the sweet mascarpone filling:

• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1 Tbs honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• zest of 2 lemons

For the savory mascarpone filling:

• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2-3 Tbs chopped chives, and/or dill
• pinch of salt

For the raspberry chia seed jam:

• 2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 Tbs chia seeds

Instructions

To make the homemade mascarpone cheese (make the day before):

1. Pour the heavey cream in a saucepan, and slowly bring to a low simmer (180 °F). Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes over low heat, then add the fresh lemon juice, and simmer for another 3 minutes.

2. Remove from heat, and allow to cool off to room temperature. It will thicken slightly but will not curd. Line a strainer with 4 layers of cheesecloth and place over a bowl. Pour the cream in the strainer, tie the ends of the cheesecloth together, and cover with plastic wrap. Leave in the fridge overnight for a softer mascarpone cheese, or longer for a harder consistency.

To make the raspberry chia jam:

1. Add frozen or fresh raspberries to a small saucepan, and gently heat, until the fruit has barely warmed up and broken down a bit. Off heat, add the honey, and chia seeds, stir, and leave for an hour or more to thicken. Alternatively, if you don't want to wait that long, use as a sauce.

To make the mascarpone cheese filling:

1. Mix 1 cup mascarpone cheese, with the zest of 2 large lemons. Divide the mix in half. Add the honey, and vanilla to one half and mix well. Adjust the sweetness and add more zest if needed. Add the chives (dill), salt and pepper to the other half.

Make the croissant French toast:

1. Beat the eggs and milk in a bowl, then dip the croissant halves in the mix. Heat 2-3 tbs of oil and gently toast the halves, turning over after a minute or so.

2. Assemble the French toast: Top each croissant half with 1 tbs of the mascarpone filling of choice (sweet or savory). Add the stuffing of choice (smoked salmon or raspberry jam), and press the two halves together.