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1
Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
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2
Lightly butter a large shallow baking dish and sprinkle it with 1 tablespoon of the sugar.
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3
Cut the apricots in half, remove the pits and place them, cut side up, in the baking dish, in a single layer if possible.
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4
Sprinkle them with 3 tablespoons of the sugar and the brandy.
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5
Bake for about 20 minutes, until they begin to brown around the edges.
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6
Remove the apricots from the oven and set aside.
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7
Meanwhile, slice the brioche into 8 equal slices and cut each slice in half.
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8
Beat the eggs in a bowl and stir in the nectar.
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9
Stir in the orange peel, 2 tablespoons of the sugar and the nutmeg.
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10
Pour this mixture into a shallow dish and add the slices of brioche, turning them so they can soak up the liquid.
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11
Set aside.
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12
Heat half the remaining butter in a large, heavy skillet or a griddle.
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13
Fry the soaked brioche slices to brown lightly on each side, adding more butter to the skillet as needed.
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14
Place 2 pieces of the browned brioche side by side on each of eight dessert plates, leaving about 2 inches of space between the slices of brioche.
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15
Spoon the apricots into the space between the pieces of brioche and on top of them.
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16
Serve at once, with ice cream or whipped cream on the side, if desired.
