Baked Pear Vanilla French Toast |

Cookbook of the Month Recipe – Baked Pear Vanilla French Toast

Filed under Breakfast/Brunch

May 22
I don’t usually post on Sundays, but it has been one of those weeks. We put our house up for sale this week, so we spent lots of time cleaning and decluttering and doing random repairs. And then I agreed to develop 5 recipes that are all due next week, so most of my kitchen time has been spent on those recipes. I went to make this recipe on Thursday, only to discover that it needed to be refrigerated overnight. (This is a classic reason why you should always read through the recipe beforehand!!) So, here I am, a few days late – but it’s worth it!!

I am a fan of overnight breakfast casseroles. Not only are they delicious, but you get to do all the work ahead of time, so in the morning, all you have to do is pop the casserole in the oven. I’ve made a few variations of baked French toast before, but this one rates up at the top. I love that you start it with brown sugar and butter, making a caramel-ly base that the pears soak up. And I was really surprised at how much the vanilla flavor showed through. Pears aren’t my #1 favorite fruit, and while I liked them in this, I can imagine that I would absolutely love it with apples!

Recipe Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Print
Add this recipe to ZipList!
Baked Pear Vanilla French Toast

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes

Yield: 6-8 servings

Pear and Vanilla flavors are infused in this delicious overnight breakfast casserole.
Ingredients
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons water
3 fresh pears, sliced
4 cups French bread, cut into small pieces (better to not use the crust)
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
9 eggs
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
powdered sugar or maple syrup
Instructions
Melt the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the water and continue heating until bubbly. Remove from heat and pour into a well-greased 9?x13? baking pan, making sure to spread it evenly. Arrange the pears on top of the brown sugar mixture. Sprinkle the bread evenly over the pears, then sprinkle with the chopped nuts. Beat the eggs, milk and vanilla together and pour evenly over the entire mixture.* Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes or until it becomes puffy and the eggs are no longer runny. Serve with powdered sugar or maple syrup.
*I like to press the bread down with my hands or a spatula once I have poured the egg mixture on top to make sure the bread all gets soaked with the liquid.
---------------------
from The Reluctant Entertainer
Google Recipe View Microformatting by ZipList Recipe Plugin
1.3
http://www.tasteandtellblog.com/2011/05/cookbook-of-the-month-recipe-baked-pear-vanilla-french-toast/
Recipe from www.tasteandtellblog.com
Tagged as: breakfast, brunch, french toast, overnight casserole, pearn, recipe, reluctant entertainer, vanilla

16 Comments

16 Responses to “Cookbook of the Month Recipe – Baked Pear Vanilla French Toast”

Katrina said on May 22nd, 2011 at 6:52 am

French toast is my favorite food! Great recipe

[Reply]
Tasha said on May 22nd, 2011 at 7:08 am

I am a big fan of the overnight breakfast casserole too- especially for family holiday brunches. I’ll have to try this one. It sounds delicious!

[Reply]
Julie said on May 22nd, 2011 at 7:32 am

This French toast looks so good! I wish it had already been waiting overnight for me in my refrigerator.

[Reply]
Averie (LoveVeggiesandYoga) said on May 22nd, 2011 at 9:29 am

it looks amazing!! and the photography is just beautiful, deborah!

[Reply]
Joanne said on May 22nd, 2011 at 10:46 am

Whoa you ARE busy! Good luck with all of the recipe-testing and house-decluttering. If you’re starting your days with this casserole, then I’m sure they’ll be productive!

[Reply]
Karla said on May 22nd, 2011 at 10:56 am

I don’t even like French Toast that much and your pictures have me going out to buy the ingredients! My boyfriend says thank you

[Reply]
jennifurla said on May 22nd, 2011 at 11:45 am

dang, 8.5 score…I might have to give this a shot over the weekend.

[Reply]
sweetsugarbean said on May 22nd, 2011 at 11:49 am

Caramel and pears? I NEED to try this!!!

[Reply]
Kelly Perry said on May 22nd, 2011 at 2:41 pm

looks great and i agree about apples! thanks and good luck w/the house!

[Reply]
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking said on May 22nd, 2011 at 6:36 pm

Wow, Deborah! This french toast looks incredibly decadent and delicious, and your photos are just amazing. I love that there’s fresh pear in it, too. Great job on this and thanks for sharing!

[Reply]
Martyna (Wholesome Cook) said on May 23rd, 2011 at 5:48 am

This looks totally irresistible. I’m going through a massive pear phase at the moment… yum!

[Reply]
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel said on May 23rd, 2011 at 11:33 am

I imagine this would be incredible with all kinds of fruit! Sounds great. Good luck with selling your house

[Reply]
natalie (the sweets life) said on May 26th, 2011 at 2:41 pm

wow! I need to host a brunch so I can make this! YUM

[Reply]
Rosewood said on June 7th, 2011 at 8:58 pm

That looks great and I’m sure it is delicious but French Toast? That it is not.

What you just made is a delicious bread pudding.

[Reply]
French Toast Souffle | said on January 4th, 2012 at 6:01 am

[...] and Egg Casserole from Our Best Bites Ham and Cheese Breakfast Souffle Casserole from FoodieCrush Baked Pear Vanilla French Toast from Taste and Tell Southwest Breakfast Casserole from The Nerd’s Wife Apple Raisin French [...]
Bebe said on January 20th, 2012 at 7:37 pm

My whole family looks forward to pear bread pudding, which IS what you made, and also pear crisp (with an oatmeal crumb topping). I never thought pears were a favorite fruit of mine either… until I began letting them get good and ripe (really juicy and sweet) and cooking them into something luscious like this. Now I am in love!
One recommendation: use a little almond extract too. It totally enhances the flavor of pears and if you go light (like maybe 1/2 t.) it will not taste like almond, just super flavorful pears. I’d cut the vanilla in half though, if you decide to use almond.

[Reply]