I woke up at 8am this morning craving pancakes. It was my turn to make Saturday's brunch in exchange for a lie in. (Yes, 8am is a lie in!) Our go to pancake breakfast involves topping fluffy golden cakes with crispy bacon and drizzling the lot in maple syrup. At this time though, we don't have much bacon left in the freezer, and ideally we want to keep some for Christmas. Remembering a glut beginning to turn soft in the fruit bowl, inspiration struck...

Pecan pancakes with stewed pear and apple...

Sweet, warm and just a little boozy, this could easily become a firm favourite!

This dish couldn't be more straightforward but it rewards us with a brunch treat that feels deluxe, especially on a cold, wet morning like today. It makes use of three soft pears and an apple from the fruit bowl. These were simply stewed down over a low heat with some sugar, ground cinnamon, ground ginger and maple syrup, slackened off with water and left to soften. I also added some mixed raisins, currants and peel leftover from baking Christmas cakes, and a slosh of brandy. Typically, I'd stew pears and apples in cider, but as we had none the brandy makes a good alternative. It also adds a certain fortifying 'grown up' feel to the dish, though the alcohol will cook off.

As the fruit stews, I made pancake batter in my usual manner - that is to say entirely without measurements. Pancakes are a breakfast food and nobody has time for weights and measures that early. To a mixing jug, I add self raising flour, around a quarter full, and a teaspoon each of sugar and baking powder. The dry ingredients are mixed with a fork and then a medium egg and dash of vanilla extract is beaten in. Finally, it is mixed to a thick, spoonable batter with milk. For added texture and a slightly savoury note, I chopped some pecans and sprinkled them into the pancakes as they fried, before flipping.

A cast iron skillet is ideal for pancakes, though they can burn very quickly.

The stewed fruit should continue to simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the fruit tender. With good luck, this is just as you're plating the pancakes and pouring the coffee! Pile the fruit onto the pancakes and drizzle over some maple syrup to serve. Needless to say, they're best eaten hot, with fresh coffee, watching the rain through the window.

- Michael

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