I came up with this recipe when I simultaneously got a craving for French Toast and needed to use up a loaf of raisin bread. After looking over a few recipes, I snatched the best ideas and ran with it. One called for slicing and coating pears in a buttery brown sugar sauce while another used twice as much liquid, as well as a topping. I took a reviewers tip and poured the topping over the pan near the end of the baking cycle, which allowed it to retain some of the goo factor. This is prepped at night then baked off in the morning. The sausage patty gives a nice balance of salt to the sweet. Bacon would also work.
1 buttered 9x13" pan
1 loaf of raisin bread, torn or chopped into one-inch pieces
3 peeled and thinly sliced pears
3 T butter + 1 stick butter
1/2 c butter + 1 c brown sugar
2 c half and half
8 eggs
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1 T vanilla
Scatter half the bread chunks into pan. Melt 3 T butter and 1/2 c brown sugar in pan and simmer for one minute, add pear slices and mix til coated. Add the pear slices to the pan in one layer, then top with the rest of the bread crumbs. Whip half and half, eggs, cinnamon and vanilla, then pour evenly into pan. Cover with plastic wrap overnight in fridge. The next morning, preheat the oven to 350. Using a spatula, flip the french toast bake over (in pieces) so the soggy bread crumbs are on top and the drier ones on the bottom, smoothing with spatula if needed. Bake in 350 oven for about a half hour. Meanwhile, melt stick of butter and cup of brown sugar, boil a minute or two until thick then pour over top of French Toast Bake. Bake for 15 more minutes, til French Toast is lightly browned and sauce is crisping around edges. Serve with sausages or bacon.
