Winter pear, maple & raspberry brioche toastie

Spread each piece of the brioche with some butter.

Put the caster sugar in a large pan over medium-high heat and cook until a golden brown caramel has formed, about 3-5 minutes — when making caramel, don’t stir otherwise the sugar will crystallise; instead, move the melting sugar by gently shaking the pan. Add the 1 Tbsp butter and move pan to incorporate.

Peel, quarter and core the pear, then halve each quarter. Add pear to the hot caramel and cook for 3 minutes. Just before removing pan from the heat, add half the maple syrup and mix in by moving the pan.

Distribute pear caramel evenly between 2 slices of brioche, on the unbuttered side, then top with two-thirds of the raspberries. Add remaining raspberries to the caramel pan with the remaining maple syrup and heat quickly on a high heat. Set aside while finishing sandwiches.

Put remaining brioche on top of each sandwich, buttered side up, then cook in a hot sandwich press or frying pan until well toasted. Cut toasties in half diagonally, then serve drizzled with the raspberry caramel.

Cook's tip

Brioche is a sweet French bread, enriched with eggs and butter. Look for it at specialist food stores and bakeries, and larger supermarkets.

From Taste magazine, June 2010.

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