La Isla's Strawberry & Guava Stuffed French Toast

 La Isla's Omar Giner, of La Isla Restaurant, shared his guava-stuffed French toast recipe with Food Network kitchens a few years back. My mother and I knew after seeing his Throwdown with Bobby Flay that we had to make this recipe. While the daunting amount of ingredients can seem like quite an endeavor, its nothing compared to the finished result. Trust me. You've gotta try this one.

Total Time: 1 hr 5 min
Prep: 30 min
Inactive: 20 min
Cook: 15 min

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

Filling:
2 tablespoons soft unsalted butter, plus additional for sauteing
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons guava marmalade, plus additional for drizzling (recommended: LaFe)
5 ounces diced strawberries
3 ounces guava shells (recommended: LaFe)
4 thick slices Pullman-style bread, refrigerated
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Egg Batter:
6 extra-large eggs
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces whole milk
4 ounces evaporated milk

Breading:
10 ounces corn cereal (recommended: Cornflakes)
6 ounces sliced almonds

Directions

In a medium bowl, using a hand beater, beat the 2 tablespoons of butter, and the cream cheese until combined. Add the marmalade and mix until incorporated, then fold in the strawberries and guava shells, using a rubber scraper. Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a large tip.

Make an incision (pocket) on the crust side of the 4 pieces of bread about 3/4 of the way through. The incision will allow you to stuff the pocket. Leave the slices with the incision, covered, at room temperature before stuffing. Gently stuff the room temperature slices with the filling. Refrigerate the stuffed slices with the pocket opening facing up for 20 to 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Egg batter:
Add all the ingredients to a medium shallow bowl and mix well.

French Toast:
Add the corn cereal and almonds to a sheet pan and crush together. Dip the bread slices in the egg batter and then into the cereal mixture.

Put a large skillet on medium-high heat and add 3 to 4 tablespoons butter. When the butter has melted add the stuffed bread slices and brown on 1 side, then flip and put the skillet in oven for 8 minutes. Remove the skillet from the oven and transfer the toast to a serving platter. Drizzle with guava marmalade and a dusting of powdered sugar before serving.

Recipe Source: [Courtesy of Omar Giner via FoodNetwork]