Loved this recipe as a base and made it for my girlfriend's brunch club yesterday with these changes - and it was delish!
1. Triple the ingredients to make enough for 6-7 people in a 9 x 13 dish
2. Use challah bread - makes it so much better and don't count the number of slices you use - just use enough slices to cover the entire dish
3. When you mix the honey and lemon juice mixture that is spread on the bottom, I would microwave the mixture so that the honey is melted, as it is much easier to then spread it in the pan
4. When you mix the egg mixture together with the honey, add a stick of melted butter (butter makes everything so much tastier) and instead of dipping the bread in the mixture, just pour the entire mixture over the bread and pears - and let it sit for an hour to properly infuse the bread and make it super moist. And sprinkle some addtal cinnamon over the bread slices so evenly coated.
5. Bake it at 350 for 55- 60 mins - not 20 minutes as they said.
6. Roast/broil the almonds separately and sprinkle over each serving - really makes a difference in terms of finishing touch for taste
I tried to follow this recipe as written, but the bread would not fit properly in the 9x13 pan. I trimmed the crusts off and the four pieces fit perfectly in an 8x8 pan. My pears were not quite ripe enough, so I resorted to using tinned, one of which was just enough to create the two layers. This recipe was very moist and delicately spiced. The ginger was a perfect complement to the pears. We topped with the excess syrup from the pan, but I would almost consider increasing that part of the recipe as there wasn't a lot of it left. Maple syrup would drown out the nice flavor, and it really doesn't need anything else on it. One thing to keep in mind is although this technically serves four, it's really only enough for two adults, unless you are serving it with a number of other items.
I made this for our Saturday Brunch and it was very good. Another reviewer said that it could have used more syrup...we had just enough for the 4 slices of bread I chose to use. It would have never made enough for 6 slices of bread. I agree with the other reviewer who said this recipe is only enough for 2 people. This recipe is one that you will want to make again and again. It would also be good with other fruits like peaches, bananas, strawberries or raspberries, adjusting the spices accordingly to compliment the fruit chosen. It reminds me of a special breakfast offering that you might get at a nice Bed & Breakfast!
Best french toast ever. Love the ginger lemon honey with the pears!!
excellent recipe. My kids loved it and it was easy enough to impress overnight guests without adding to my stress. I have tried this with canned and with fresh pears, the fresh are better but canned will do in a pinch.
I made this tonight for dessert with only a few slight adjustments. After adding the sauce to the bottom of the 9X13 dish I lined the entire dish with pears. I had about 4 rows. I used about a half a loaf of stale french bread sliced into 1/2in thick pieces. I soaked the pieces in the eggy mix (this is where the milk belongs for those questioning) for a few minutes on each side before placing them into the pan. It cooked in the time suggested and the spices/sweetness was really good without being overpowering. I will definitely make this again. I can't see serving such a sweet meal to my family for breakfast, but this makes a great dessert. I absolutely does NOT require any additional syrup or sweetener.
Delicious!!!! My entire family enjoyed this dish.
What a great French toast recipe. So easy to make and it came out perfectly. I will try this with peaches next time.
I used apple pie spice as my husband does not like ginger. The top toast from the country style sour dough was crispy while the traditional Oat Whole Grain was softer. Still very yummy. This was a bright spot in the Covid -19 Stay at home time.
