Is there anything more comforting than the whip of baking cinnamon on a cool morning? This baked french toast is the epitome of a perfect holiday breakfast. With an egg nog flavored custard, the baked french toast is finished with sauteed pears and sweet pomegranate seeds.
There is nothing more satisfying than waking up to the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg baking away in the oven during the Holiday season.
Eggnog is the theme of the day with an eggnog inspired custard for the thick challah to soak in.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, a bright zesting of orange zest and of course a good hefty shot of Brandy offers every single bite of my favorite Holiday flavors!
And if that wasn't amazing enough, jet-lag gave me this crazy idea to top the baked french toast with sauteed pears and pomegranates. I absolutely love this combination and have made it before in crumbles and it is just divine.
Pears and pomegranates are so gorgeous this time of year, the pears are ripe and sweet and the pomegranate seeds are so eye-catching and bright red, it's hard to resist.
As the eggnog french toast is resting after it's baked, quickly saute sliced pears in butter and brown sugar until they soften and then at the very last minute, sprinkle with gorgeous bright red seeds.
Baked Eggnog French Toast with Sauteed Pears and Pomegranates
LittleFerraroKitchen.com
Ingredients
- Eggnog French Toast
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup milk
- 4 eggs
- 1 oz Brandy
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon fresh orange zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 Tb brown sugar
- pinch of kosher salt
- 1 Tb butter for greasing pan
- 4 thick slices challah bread
Sauteed Pears and Pomegranates
- 1 pear peeled, cored and sliced thin
- ½ cup pomegranate seeds
- 2 Tb butter unsalted
- 2 Tb brown sugar
- ¼ orange juiced
Instructions
- Use the 1Tb butter to grease a medium sized, wide baking pan. Lay challah slices, slightly overlapping if need to.
- In a separate bowl, mix the rest of the french toast ingredients. Everything from the heavy cream through salt. Whisk everything together very well and slowly pour over the challah bread evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight if you have the time.
- Take the french toast out of the refrigerator and remove plastic wrap. Recover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the topping gets crusty. When done, allow to rest.
- While french toast is resting, make the sauteed pears. In a non-stick skillet, melt the butter and brown sugar together. Add pears and allow to cook until they begin to get soft, about 5 minutes, stirring continuously. Squeeze in orange juice and continue to stir. Turn off heat and add pomegranate seeds the last minute. Pour sauteed fruit over baked french toast.
Notes
Karla @ Foodologie says
This is beautiful! I'll be honest. Ordinarily I *hate* french toast (it's one of the few things on this planet that I won't eat), but I would definitely give this a try! If anything, I'd just devour that fruit topping on its own!
Samantha says
Ahaha You're so funny Karla!! I take french toast over pancakes any day!! Can't wait for our baking day!
Laura @ Family Spice says
Stunning! Stunning! Stunning! I prefer French Toast to pancakes ANY day! And topped with pomegranate - my favorite!
Samantha says
Ahh thank you thank you!!! Such a compliment coming from you and your gorgeous recipes!! 🙂
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
Absolutely love this. I don't bake with pears enough.
Samantha says
Thanks Erin!!! I seriously love cooked pears! lol