Baked Pear and Ginger Overnight French Toast Casserole

 

I love french toast-- and I mean real french toast. Not the stuff you get at the local diner (you know... sandwich bread dipped in egg and milk cooked on a griddle). I mean the huge chunks of bread soaked in spices and the typical egg/milk concoction, full of fresh and in season fruit. UGGGHH... sooo good. This is the stuff every breakfast wants to be. It also doubles great as dessert.  Next time you want surprise your family with breakfast, whip this up the night before and just throw it in the oven in the morning.

Baked Pear and Ginger Overnight French Toast Casserole

Yield: 8 individual servings
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40-50 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 loaf of bread (any bread works... I used white bread).
• 3 Pears (I used Bartlett)
• 8 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2/3 cup of sugar
• 2 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp ginger

Topping

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds (I did not use any)

** Surprise!!!!!! You can customize this recipe. Pick out your favorite type of bread, fruit, and spices. Combine those instead to make your own masterpiece.

 

First and foremost... butter the baking dish you are planning to cook the casserole in. Cut or rip your bread into small pieces. Place these inside the buttered dish.

 

  

  

  

In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add in the milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Pour this evenly over the cubed bread. Cover and let the magic happen in your fridge.

 

In the morning (or the night before) grab a small bowl and mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and salt together. Cut the butter up into cubes and add to the mixture. Begin to mash the butter in until the mixture is completely combined. (Once done, you can place in a sandwich baggie and keep in the fridge until the next morning.)

In the morning, when you are ready to start cooking, take the casserole out of the fridge and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Peel and cut the pears into slices. Lay the pieces down over the bread (I like a lot of fruit... so I load it up!)

Crumble the butter, flour, sugar, and spices mixture over the top. Place this in the oven, uncovered, for 45 minutes. This will give you a soft-centered french toast. If you want something a little more cooked keep it in the oven another 10 minutes.

Cut into slices and top with syrup...you're welcome.  :-)

Enjoy!!