Breakfast with Rick Bayless {Mango Stuffed French Toast}

When I first joined I Heart Cooking Clubs and signed on to cook with Rick Bayless once a week from April to September, I had a feeling that Rick and I would get along pretty well.  We both love Mexico, Mexican food, and all of the delicious ingredients Mexico has to offer.

As the weeks passed by, I found myself liking him more and more.   Then like turned into something else and I developed a bit of crush on Rick.  How could I not?  We've had drinks.  Flirted over a light lunch.  Shared a sweet moment.  And gotten a little more serious over dinner.  So I decided it was time to take our relationship to the next level, and invited Rick over for breakfast.

Oh. My. Goodness. Gracious!  Had me feeling a little like Meg Ryan in that deli scene in When Harry Met Sally.  And all because of a plate of French toast.  But not just any ordinary French toast.  Oh no!  This French toast was stuffed with cream cheese and mango.  (Sigh!) What an amazing combination of flavors! It was absolutely divine.

And now I'm pretty much head over heels in love with Rick.

Mango Stuffed French Toast
(recipe from RickBayless.com)

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 large mangoes, peeled and thinly sliced 
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar 
• 12 oz. cream cheese (softened)
• 12 to 18 slices sandwich bread* (I used white bread) 
• 6 large eggs
• 1 can evaporated milk 
• 1 cup regular milk
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar 
• Warm maple syrup

Directions:
Melt the butter in a large 12-inch skillet over medium heat.  Add the mango, 1/4 cup of the sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of the ground cinnamon and cook for about 10 minutes until the mango has cooked through.  (My mangoes were a little on the ripe side, so I ended up with more of a mango puree.  The results were still absolutely delicious.)

With an electric mixer on medium speed, whip the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar with the cream cheese until the sugar dissolves.

Spread the cream cheese on 12 slices of sandwich bread. Arrange 6 of the slices, cream cheese side UP, in the bottom of a generously buttered 9 x 13-inch baking dish.

Spoon a couple of tablespoons of the mango puree onto each slice of bread, making sure to spread it all the way to the edges.

Top with the remaining 6 slices of sandwich bread, cream cheese side DOWN.  *This is where Rick's recipe ends.  BUT...I still had half of the cream cheese mixture leftover and lots of mango puree, so I  decided to add another layer.  Spread more of the cream cheese on top of the bread slices.

Spoon the remaining mango puree on top of the cream cheese.  Spread the last of the cream cheese mixture on an additional 6 slices of sandwich bread.  Arrange the bread slices, cream cheese side DOWN on top of the mango puree.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs with the evaporated and regular milk, the ground cinnamon, and the vanilla extract until well combined.

Slowly pour the egg mixture over the bread.  Press down on the bread gently so that the top slices of bread absorb some of the egg mixture.  (Don't worry if some of the filling spills out.)

Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for 40 to 45 minutes or until the bread has turned a light golden brown and the egg custard no longer jiggles.

 Sprinkle the top of the Mango Stuffed French Toast with powdered sugar or drizzle with warm maple syrup.  Serve with a couple slices of bacon.  Enjoy!!!  

IHCC theme: Potluck

Also sharing this recipe with The Food of the Month Club.