‘Images and recipes from All Day Café by Stuart McKenzie (Murdoch Books). Photography by Armelle Habib. RRP $39.99.’

“I’d recommend you start this recipe the day before, so your crumble and strawberries are ready to go, and all that needs to be done in the morning is to cook the French toast. At the café we often serve this with ice cream, even for breakfast, so look for the best vanilla ice cream you can find or have a go at making some yourself (page 122). Alternatively, serve with vanilla yoghurt or mascarpone.“p30

French toast with balsamic strawberries and macadamia crumble
Serves 4

Macadamia crumble
35 g (1 1/4 oz/1/4 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 tablespoons caster (superfine) sugar
50 g (1 3/4 oz) chilled unsalted butter, chopped
40 g (1 1/2 oz/1/2 cup) shredded coconut
40 g (1 1/2 oz/1/4 cup) crushed macadamia nuts

Balsamic strawberries
55 g (2 oz/1/4 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
300 g (10 1/2 oz) strawberries, hulled

French toast
4 free-range eggs
80 ml (2 1/2 fl oz/1/3 cup) milk
80 ml (2 1/2 fl oz/1/3 cup) thin (pouring) cream
30 g (1 oz) unsalted butter
1 brioche loaf, about 400 g (14 oz), cut into 8 slices about 2 cm
(3/4 inch) thick

TO MAKE THE MACADAMIA CRUMBLE, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Put the flour and sugar in
a bowl and stir to combine. Add the butter and
use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour mixture. Stir in the coconut and macadamias.

Spread on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes, or until the crumble is golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. The crumble can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

TO MAKE THE BALSAMIC STRAWBERRIES, put the sugar, balsamic vinegar and 2 tablespoons cold water in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the strawberries and increase the heat to high. Bring to the boil and cook for 3 minutes. Set aside to cool, then refrigerate until needed.

TO MAKE THE FRENCH TOAST, whisk together the eggs, milk and cream in a wide bowl. Melt half the butter in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Dip four slices of bread, one at a time, in the egg mixture until soaked, then drain off the excess.

Fry the bread for 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Remove from the pan and keep warm while you cook the remainder of the slices. Serve topped with the strawberries and crumble.

Vanilla ice cream
Makes about 1.25 litres (44 fl oz/5 cups)
500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) thickened (whipping) cream
500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) milk
200 g (7 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
1 vanilla bean
12 egg yolks
“Everyone has their favourite flavour when it comes to ice cream, but it’s just plain old vanilla for me – especially when you can taste that real vanilla bean flavour. Home-made ice cream doesn’t require many ingredients and it’s actually quite fun to make. Serve the ice cream on its own, with cakes and pies, or with poached seasonal fruit.” p.122
Pour the cream and milk into a medium heavy-based saucepan. Add half the sugar.

Slit the vanilla bean down its length with a small sharp knife. Use the knife to scrape out as many
of the tiny black seeds as you can into the cream mixture. Cut the vanilla bean into three pieces and drop it into the pan.

Heat the cream and milk over low heat, stirring occasionally, until it almost boils. Take the pan off the heat and set aside so the vanilla can infuse.

Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, whisk together the egg yolks and the remaining sugar until pale, thickened and the volume has increased. Add the cream mixture and beat until well combined.

Return the mixture to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Be careful that it doesn’t boil. As soon as you see any bubbles about to burst to the surface, the custard should be thick enough; take the saucepan off the heat so the mixture doesn’t curdle. Remove and discard the pieces of vanilla bean.

Allow the custard to cool completely before churning in an ice-cream machine following the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a container and freeze for 4 hours, or until firm (see Cook’s tips). About 20 minutes before serving, transfer
the ice cream to the fridge to soften slightly.

Cooks Tips
If freezing overnight, wrap the ice cream container in a double layer of plastic wrap. This will prevent ice crystals from forming.