Prep. time: 15 minutes
Rising time: 4 + 2 hours
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Brioche (make the day before):

1. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, place the flour, sugar, salt, yeast, eggs and warm milk.
2. Mix on medium speed for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and slightly elastic. Incorporate the butter in pieces and continue to knead for 10 minutes. Set aside in a large bowl covered with a damp cloth and let rise in the refrigerator for about 4 hours.
3. Punch down the dough to its initial volume and fold it over on itself several times. Roll out into a sausage shape with the palms of your hands and place into a buttered loaf pan.
4. Let the dough rise again at room temperature and when doubled in volume, bake in a preheated 200° C (400° F) oven for about 30 minutes. Check for doneness using the tip of a knife. Turn out onto a rack, let cool and cut four nice slices, 1.5 cm (3/4 ") thick. Set aside.

Christmas beer ice cream

1. Beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and light. Bring the cream and Christmas beer to a boil and gradually whisk the hot mixture into the egg yolks, then return to the saucepan. Place over low heat until thickened, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
2. Remove from the heat once the custard coats the back of the spoon. Chill quickly to stop the cooking, then pour into an ice cream maker to freeze.

Pears in syrup

1. Peel, core and halve the pears. In a saucepan, bring to a boil 500 ml (2 cups) water, 80 g (3/8 cup) granulated sugar, the orange and lemon juices and the vanilla bean (split and the seeds scraped with a knife blade).
2. Add the pears, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes (depending on the quality of the pears).
3. Let the pears cool in the syrup, then drain. Cut them into a fan, then caramelize in a skillet with the butter and 20 g (4 tsp.) sugar. Set aside on a plate.
4. Deglaze the skillet with the pear juice and strain. (You could also used canned pears in syrup. Cut them into a fan and caramelize them in a skillet, then deglaze the skillet with their juice and strain).

Making the "French toast"

1. Whisk together the eggs, Christmas beer and brown sugar.
2. Dip the brioche slices (both sides) into this mixture, then brown in a skillet. Remove and keep warm.

Presentation

1. Place a pear fan and a slice of the brioche French toast in the center of each plate, then pour the pear syrup over top and garnish at the last moment with a scoop of Christmas beer ice cream.

Christmas beer