Pear And Almond French Toast Casserole Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish.
• For the French toast: Lay the bread slices in one layer (it's OK if they overlap a little) on a baking sheet. Bake the slices (to dry them out a little) for 6 minutes, then flip and bake for 6 minutes more. Set aside to cool.
• Whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, granulated sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Dunk each bread slice in the egg mixture to coat thoroughly and shingle the slices in the buttered casserole dish. Pour any remaining egg mixture over the bread. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
• For the coconut-almond crust: Put 1/2 cup of the coconut, 1/3 cup of the almonds, granulated sugar, flour and salt in a food processor and process until very fine. Add the butter, egg and egg yolk and process well to form a smooth paste.
• To assemble the casserole: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the coconut-almond mixture evenly over the soaked bread slices. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup sliced almonds and 3 tablespoons coconut and bake until puffed and lightly golden and the custard is set (the center of the casserole will no longer jiggle when shaken), 45 to 50 minutes. Allow to cool for 1 hour before serving, or serve at room temperature.
• Serve with a sprinkling of powdered sugar and berries if using.

Steps:

• For the fruit-nut mixture: Mix the butter with the apples, pears, walnuts and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Refrigerate to chill briefly.
• For the French toast: Meanwhile, in a large flat dish, whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and vanilla.
• Make a deep slice from the side into the center of each bread slice to form a pocket. Stuff a couple spoonfuls of the fruit-nut mixture into each piece (reserve any leftover fruit-nut mixture for serving). Dip the stuffed bread in the egg mixture to moisten on both sides (but not so much that the bread falls apart).
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat and melt 1 tablespoon of butter. In batches, add the stuffed bread and cook until golden brown, flipping gently, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Continue cooking the remaining bread, adding additional butter as needed.
• Put the extra fruit-nut mixture in the skillet and cook a few minutes over medium heat, just to soften the fruit. Spoon over the French toast and serve with warm maple syrup.

Steps:

• Arrange bread, pears, and raspberries evenly in overlapping layers in a 2 1/2-to-3-quart baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and salt. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla; whisk to thoroughly combine. Pour egg mixture evenly over bread and fruits; press with palms to fully submerge. Cover and let stand at room temperature 1 hour, or refrigerate up to 1 day.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over top of bread and fruits. Bake until puffed, golden brown on top, and set, 55 to 65 minutes (if browning too quickly, tent with foil). Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Evenly distribute the butter cubes into the bottom of a 10x14-inch baking dish. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter. Arrange the pear slices into the bottom of the dish. Arrange the bread cubes into a single layer over the pears.
• Mix the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract together in a bowl until fully blended; pour evenly over the bread cubes, assuring all pieces are evenly covered. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and chill overnight in refrigerator.
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove the casserole from the refrigerator and allow to warm while the oven preheats.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the top of the bread is golden brown and the eggs have solidified, 45 to 60 minutes. Top with the sliced almonds to serve.