Pecan French Toast with Earl Grey Poached Pears

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This crispy pecan-crusted french toast is topped with Earl Grey tea poached pears for the perfect indulgent weekend breakfast.

It feels like our weekends haven’t been ours for most of this year. Between moving and wedding planning and birthdays and family health crises… I’m only just now getting to truly enjoy my weekends on my time.

One of my favorite things about weekends is that I can take the time I want to cook. There’s time for roasting vegetables, time for wandering through farmers markets and most definitely time for french toast.

If you’re going to make french toast, you might as well make it right. For me that means great bread, and delicious toppings. This Pecan French Toast with Earl Grey Poached Pears definitely checks both of those boxes.

First of all, the bread makes all the difference here and I will put my stake in the ground that challah bread makes the best french toast. I give brioche a close second though.

Second — toppings. Since it’s officially fall, I’m all in on the cozy ingredients. What makes these toppings so great?

• Crunchy pecans which get even better when the french toast is fried and crispy. It just gives the french toast this irresistible crust.

• Poached pears. These pears are sweet, juicy and cooked in an Earl Grey tea mixture so they have a super nuanced flavor. Make sure you spoon some of the Earl Grey syrup on your plate also.

• It’s not necessary but I love freshly whipped cream with french toast. I know, I know, this is supposed to be breakfast. It’s the weekend. Indulge a little.

• Maple syrup? Totally optional. Completely delicious. I love the taste of the Earl Grey poached pear liquid with the maple syrup though. That’s a winning combo.

I know Earl Grey poached pears sounds fancy but I promise, it’s very easy to make. You essentially just need to steep black tea with sugar. Pour that into a baking dish over a few halved, cored pears. Pop that into the oven and you’re good to go.

I love that while the pears are doing their thing in the oven, you have the exact amount of time you need to make the french toast. By the time your french toast is ready, your pears will be too.

I love this french toast combo because it combines so many flavors and textures into one dish. The super crispy pecan crust paired with the supple poached pears and whipped cream make for an amazing mouthfeel. And then the poached pear liquid with the maple syrup just brings the whole dish together. It’s a breakfast that’s made for fall.

Just a note: If you can slice your bread the night before, it helps the bread maintain its shape after being soaked in the egg and milk mixture. This isn’t at all necessary but is a “nice to have” if you’ve got your french toast weekend plans set in advance.

Did you make this recipe? Let me know in the comments below or on Instagram or Pinterest!

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Pecan French Toast with Earl Grey Poached Pears

Serves 2

POACHED PEAR INGREDIENTS

⅔ cup water

3 Tbs granulated sugar

2 Tbs Earl Grey tea leaves

1 tsp vanilla

2 pears

FRENCH TOAST INGREDIENTS

4 1-inch slices of challah or brioche bread (ideally day old)

3 eggs

½ cup milk

½ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cardamom

½ cup roughly chopped pecans

2 Tbs coconut oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 400F.

2. Heat water and sugar over medium-high heat until sugar has dissolved and the mixture comes to a low boil. Remove from heat. Add Earl Grey tea and let steep for 5 mins.

3. While tea is steeping, prepare pears. Peel the pears, cut pears in half and remove the seeded core. Feel free to keep the stems on if you want your pears to look a little bit fancy. Place pears flat-side down in a baking safe dish (like a pie dish or 8x8 dish).

4. Strain tea leaves from liquid and discard tea leaves. Add 1 tsp of vanilla to liquid. Pour liquid over pears into baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes.

5. While pears are baking, make the french toast. Whisk eggs, milk, salt and cardamom together in a flat baking dish or bowl. One by one, dip bread in the egg mixture, using a fork to help egg mixture soak thoroughly into the bread.

6. Spread chopped pecans onto a plate. Press each side of uncooked french toast pieces into pecans until covered with nuts. Continue until all pieces are covered.

7. Heat coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, add french toast to skillet and cook each side until golden brown and cooked inside.

8. Serve french toast with poached pears. Top with a dusting of powdered sugar, freshly whipped cream and/or maple syrup if desired.

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Lovely little things

• If you caught any of my Insta stories this week, you probably saw that I was raving about sticker wall tiles I found at Home Depot. They’re perfect for food photography and way easier than grouting a backdrop yourself. My friend Christy at The Shared Sip said that she loves these sticker wall tiles on Amazon and that they’re essentially the same thing.

Currently reading

• Maisie Dobbs (Book 1) by Jacqueline Winspear. I’ve gotten into this series because of my new favorite podcast, Forever 35. It’s a “cozy mystery” series about a woman, Maisie Dobbs, set in the 1920s. She’s essentially a private investigator who rose through the ranks from being a maid and is now out on her own solving her first case. It’s a great book if you’re looking for something light and cozy.