I believe in sweetness. I believe it can make your day. I believe it because everyone who sees a dessert that they love, a cookie they crave, or a dessert they can’t wait to try, is grinning from ear to ear. And, after creating what was really a breakfast dish that turned out to be more like a bread pudding and oh, so sweet, I knew that grinning would continue.

I started out thinking I would simply make some french toast. But that little ugly knob of ginger was right in front of me as I cleared the stove top to set a pan upon it. And I thought how lovely some of it would be grated into a ruby red dallop of strawberry preserves. Then, when I grabbed for the eggs in the fridge, I noticed a half-used tub of mascarpone cheese – unused Italian cheese is against the law in Italy, so don’t tell anyone – and vowed to incorporate some of that as well.

Mixing some heavy cream into my egg mixture, along with vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg, I then turned to the last few slices I had of a nice nutty, multi-grain bread. Using a round glass, I cut out discs from the center of each slice, and dropped them into the egg mixture before caramelizing them in a beautiful, hot puddle of melted butter.

To serve, I simply layered each disc with a little mascarpone and a bit of the ginger preserves. Believe me, no need for syrup, or sugar although the powdered version makes it pretty. The texture was soft but not mushy. The nuttiness was a perfect compliment to the tart flavor of the ginger, and because mascarpone cheese is like butter all grown up, that made it all creamy and awesome.

The end result was a decadent breakfast, that could easily be dessert, and will of course make you smile, and smile, and smile.