We’ve gotten our mittens on this super-lovely pear pudding recipe from Guy Mirabella's new cookbook, Pranzo. Throughout the collection of recipes, images and stories, the professional cook and lauded book designer opens up a portal of memory – filling it with family, travel and mouth-watering Sicilian food.

We're obsessed with this perfect after-dinner treat to indulge in with a big old scoop of ice-cream – it's also a clever dish to keep up your sleeve if you want to impress your folks.

INGREDIENTS
Enough for 8

Pear pudding
5 William (bartlett) pears, halved with stems and pips (optional) included
250ml Alchermes liqueur
80g soft brown sugar
4 cloves
4 star anise
5 croissants, torn into pieces, some big, some small
2 pinches of freshly ground nutmeg
2 pinches of ground cinnamon
6 eggs
60g icing (confectioners’) sugar
375ml thick (double/heavy) cream
375ml buttermilk
Grated zest of 1 orange
Yoghurt, ice-cream or thick (double/heavy) cream, to serve

Almond crystals
60g caster sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
100g flaked almonds

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F). Line a 22 × 26 cm roasting tin and a baking tray with baking paper.

Place the pears – with some of them cut side up – in the roasting tin with the Alchermes, brown sugar, cloves and star anise. Cover tightly with foil, then bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the pears from the oven and take out the cloves and star anise. Place the torn croissants around the pears, pushing the pear halves to stand up with their stems upright. Sprinkle the nutmeg and cinnamon over the top. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, icing sugar, cream, buttermilk and orange zest, whisking by hand. Pour the batter into the tin around the pears. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the custard is firm on the outside but gooey in the middle.

Meanwhile, to make the almond crystals, stir the caster sugar, maple syrup, almonds and 2 tablespoons of water in a small saucepan over low heat until the mixture is clear. When the almond mixture is ready, pour it onto the prepared baking tray. Toast in the oven for about 10 minutes, stirring every now and again to form dry crystals. Cool on the tray.

Remove the pudding from the oven and spoon straight into bowls. Top with the almond crystals and serve immediately with yoghurt, ice-cream or thick cream.

Guys says, "Although the croissants are broken, they are somehow more beautiful once cooked. When Jojo and I travel, we always start off walking down the same road. Sometimes I go off onto side streets to explore, while she quietly keeps walking, stopping occasionally to sit at a cafe, watch people or read a book, a finger to her lips, her eyes only lifting to see where I am. I’m always just to her side."

This is an edited extract from Pranzo by Guy Mirabella (Hardie Grant Books), RRP $60. Available in stores nationally.