Nigel Slater’s panettone pain perdu, stewed apple and lemon

Peel the apples, core them and cut them into rough chunks. Squeeze the juice from the lemon into a saucepan, add the apples and 4 tbsp of water and bring to the boil.

Lower the heat, then let the apples cook until they are soft and fluffy. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon.

Cut the panettone into 4 thick slices. Beat the egg lightly in a shallow bowl. Pour the cream into a similar bowl. Brush the cream generously over the panettone, turn over and coat the other side.

Warm the butter in a shallow pan over a moderately high heat. When bubbles form around the edge of the pan, dip the panettone into the beaten egg, then quickly lower it into the warm butter. Let the panettone cook until the underside is golden, then turn over using a palette knife. Let the other side turn golden, then remove from the pan and rest briefly on kitchen paper.

Spoon some apple into 2 bowls, then place a couple of pieces of a panettone on each and dust with icing sugar.