Mother’s Day Brunch Recipe: Pain Perdu with Confit Orange

Pain Perdu or "lost bread" is a wonderful traditional French dessert which uses stale bread that would otherwise be discarded. Jackie Kai Ellis, founder of Beaucoup Bakery, and creator of this recipe, recommends using thick slices of dry brioche to soak up as much egg as possible to create a custard-like texture.

For the Orange Confit:

4 naval oranges
Juice of 2 lemons
1 vanilla bean husk
2.5 lbs (1.13kg) granulated sugar

Bring water to a boil in a large pot and blanch the whole oranges for 1 minute. Remove the oranges and drain the water. Bring another fresh pot of water to a boil and blanch the oranges again for 1 minute to remove more of the bitterness in the skin, then drain the water. Quarter the oranges along the stem, place in the pot and add the sugar and lemon juice. Add water to cover the oranges and slowly bring to a very low simmer. Simmer, uncovered about 6-8 hours, until the skins begin to become translucent, the oranges are tender but still hold together, adding more water if needed. If you cannot tend to the burner for the entire 6-8 hours, turn off the burner, cover the pot and resume the low simmer when you are able. To store, place skins in a canning jar with the segments and syrup. You can now prepare them for canning or keep them refrigerated for weeks.

For the Pain Perdu:
4 large eggs
1 vanilla bean, scraped of its seeds
1/2 tsp (2.5ml) fine sea salt
2 tsp (10ml) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (79ml) whipping cream
4 thick slices of brioche or Challah
4 tbsp (60ml) butter
2 oranges, segmented
Whipped cream (optional)

In a shallow baking dish, mix together eggs, vanilla seeds, salt, sugar and cream. Place the brioche in the dish in one layer to soak up the egg. Allow to rest for about 5 minutes on each side depending on the dryness of the bread. The drier the bread, the longer it will need to soak.

In a nonstick pan on medium-high heat, melt 1 tbsp of butter per slice. One by one, fry the brioche slices on both sides until golden and remove from the pan onto a sheet tray or plate. You can choose to remove the crusts for a more elegant look or leave them for a rustic appearance. Plate the Pain Perdu warm, top with a slice of orange confit, fresh segments and whipped cream.

Serves 4