#8: French toast with caramelised pears

I'm playing catch up at the moment, having been away from my kitchen for three weeks in February. So now I'm trying to make up for lost time, which I suppose can only be a good thing. I collected a few recipe ideas I'm keen to try out after eating in some great cafes while I was away. This is one such recipe - I had breakfast at the Tricycle Cafe in the Salamanca Arts Centre while I was staying in Hobart. It was a lovely and relaxed cafe, and a nice hideaway from the busy market in Salamanca Place on a Saturday morning. The poached pear french toast they served was enormous, dished up with a vanilla syrup, cream and currants - it was beautiful but a little too rich for me to be able to finish. I therefore tried a simpler version for a sunny Saturday morning brunch.

I used a soft ciabatta loaf from a local bakery for this recipe, and it was perfect. I'd steer away from anything harder, like sourdough or crusty broad bread, but that's my personal preference. I also used Packham pears, as they're in season in my area, but I'll be playing around with differen varieties and different fruit in future.

serves 2
20 minutes



For the pears:
1 large pear, cored and sliced
1 tablespoon of honey
A generous splash of rum (amaretto might also be lovely)
A teaspoon of vanilla essence

For the toast:
4-6 thick slices of soft white bread (depending on the size of the loaf)
6 eggs
A teaspoon of vanilla essence

Over a low heat, mix the honey, rum and vanilla essence in a pan.

When you have a smooth mixture, add the pear slices and put the lid on.

Check the pears regularly, turning them as required. They should become noticeably soft. The sugary rum mixture will also become tacky.

When soft, remove the pears from the pan and place on a plate at the side.

Melt some butter in the pan with the remnants of the sugary rum mix.

Crack and mix together the eggs and another teaspoon of vanilla essence

Cover each slice of bread in egg and place in the pan. The bread should be turned once or twice, and served up when the egg is cooked.

Place the pears on the french toast, and serve with icing sugar and maple syrup