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PIZZA for breakfast is a proposition that ranks right up there with drinks before noon. Put them together and you have the perfect brunch.

Usually pizza is a guilty pleasure for breakfast, leftover slices eaten cold while you’re standing in front of the refrigerator. But it is a whole different indulgence hot from the oven, with a crisp crust and a savory topping that is more like the ultimate omelet than anything Pizza Hut could slap together.

And pizza makes just as much sense for breakfast as a burrito does. Both comprise all four of the essential morning food groups: eggs, sausage, cheese and bread (the crust being like the tortilla, which is like toast). But pizza seriously outperforms burritos at brunch time.

Unlike a breakfast burrito, it’s meant for sharing, like a frittata, and everyone knows communal eggs are integral to brunch. Burritos are good anytime and can even be eaten while driving, but breakfast pizza feels weekend-worthy, more suited to eating around a table. Nor does it have to be assembled to order, as eggs in tortillas with salsa do. One whole pizza can be baked and divvied up like a quiche. On a plate with a vibrant green salad, it even makes a real meal, more lunch than breakfast.

All that’s needed to round out the menu is a drink and a dessert, a fruit-forward dessert, which is the best part: Pizza goes with just about anything in either category.

Breakfast pizza starts like any other, with a serious crust; it ends with mozzarella and ricotta, but it doesn’t stop for tomato sauce in between. Instead, the plain crust is covered with Italian sausage and sauteed kale, which adds a bitter brightness to the whole assemblage. Eggs thickened and enriched with sour cream are then poured over, and the cheese goes on last, a layering of the best fresh mozzarella you can find and a few dollops of good ricotta.

After it’s baked and cut into slices, it can be eaten either with a fork, if you want to be dainty, or by hand, if you want to be weekend casual. All it needs on the plate with it is a mix of mesclun or other greens in a light vinaigrette with lemon and shallots, with some roasted red peppers tossed in if you’re feeling ambitious.

For the all-important drink, you could serve the pizza with the usual Mimosas or Bloody Marys, but a Pisco Sour, a cocktail that is turning up in more and more restaurants on weekends, is surprisingly good company. Made from Peruvian brandy mixed with lime and lemon juice, it has a sweet-tart balance that contrasts superbly with the richness of the pizza.

You make it like a gin fizz, another brunch drink that is undergoing something of a renaissance. The brandy is combined in a cocktail shaker with an egg white, the juice, a little sugar and lots of ice and agitated until the drink is nice and frothy. A few shakes of Angostura bitters in the glass add color to the drink and subtle edge to the flavors.

Pisco, the brandy itself, has a pungent aroma and taste very similar to aguardiente, another South American spirit. You can spend as little as $15 for a bottle or as much as $30 and get a great drink at either extreme.

As for dessert, fruit always feels right for brunch, and apples feel very February. You can mix them with pecans in a spicy batter and make an excellent cake with the perfect right-on-the-edge-of-gooey richness, then take it to another level with a warm sauce that has the flavor of caramel with none of the fear factor of melting sugar. You just melt butter, cream and two kinds of sugar until you get spoonable bliss.

If you have only one oven, you can bake the cake first, then the pizza, then warm up dessert by making the sauce just before you serve it.

This whole menu is actually very simple to do. Call it thinking out of the Domino’s box.

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Pisco Sour

Total time: 5 minutes

Servings: 1

Note: Pisco is Peruvian brandy. This is adapted from “Brunch” by Marc Meyer and Peter Meehan.

2 ounces Pisco

1 teaspoon superfine sugar

1 egg white

1/2 ounce lemon juice

1/2 ounce lime juice

Angostura bitters

Combine the Pisco, superfine sugar, egg white and both juices in a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice. Cover and shake vigorously for 20 to 30 seconds, until the egg white is frothy, then strain into a highball glass or wineglass. Shake a couple of dashes of bitters on top (they should stay suspended) and serve.

Each serving: 170 calories; 4 grams protein; 7 grams carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 0 fat; 0 saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 56 mg. sodium.

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Apple-nut cake with caramel sauce

Total time: About 1 hour, 15 minutes

Servings: 12

Note: Make the sauce while the cake cools.

Sauce

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted

butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon dark rum

(or 1 teaspoon vanilla)

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, brown sugar, butter and cream and heat to a boil while stirring constantly. Stir in the rum or vanilla and remove from heat.

Cake

1 tablespoon plus 1 cup

(2 sticks) unsalted butter,

softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

3 cups (half-inch dice) diced Granny Smith apples (about 2 large apples)

1 cup chopped pecans

Sauce

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Use 1 tablespoon butter to grease a 9-by-13-inch pan.

2. Combine the remaining butter with the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and cream until light, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and blend, scraping the sides of the bowl.

3. Stir together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices and beat on low speed, half at a time, into the butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in the apples and pecans, mixing well so that all the ingredients are well dispersed. Scrape into the prepared pan and spread evenly.

4. Bake 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack while making the sauce.

5. Cut the cake and spoon the sauce over.

Each of 12 servings: 587 calories; 5 grams protein; 65 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams fiber; 36 grams fat; 18 grams saturated fat; 112 mg. cholesterol; 280 mg. sodium.

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Breakfast pizza

Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes plus 1 1/2 hours rising time

Serves: 6

Note: The crust recipe is from Amy Scattergood. Use either sweet or spicy Italian sausage.

Crust

1 ( 1/4 -ounce) package active dry yeast

3/4 cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 1/4 cups flour, divided, plus more for kneading

4 tablespoons olive oil,

divided

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix the yeast, warm water, sugar and one-half cup flour. Let stand 10 minutes, until mixture starts bubbling a little. (If it doesn’t, the yeast is dead and you’ll have to start over with new yeast.)

2. Add the remaining flour and 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead, adding more flour if necessary to keep from sticking. After you’ve kneaded for a few minutes, knead in the salt a little at a time, adding more flour if necessary, as the salt will change the consistency of the dough. Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is soft and springs back when you poke it with your finger.

3. Place the dough in the clean bowl with the rest of the olive oil, making sure the bowl and dough are both coated. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

Topping and assembly

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups coarsely chopped kale

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 pound Italian sausage, meat removed from casings

3/4 cup sour cream

3 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Tabasco sauce to taste

4 ounces fresh mozzarella, grated on large hole of grater or coarsely chopped

1/4 cup fresh ricotta cheese

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees and place the rack in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oil in a medium skillet. Add the kale and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until slightly wilted.

2. Add the garlic. Cook for 2 minutes, then remove the mixture to a bowl and set aside.

3. In the same pan, cook the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, for about 5 minutes or until it is almost cooked through. Remove from the skillet and set aside to cool slightly.

4. Punch the dough down and place it on a large greased pizza pan or baking sheet. Press it out with your fingers to form a 12-inch round. Shape and press the edges to make a half-inch-deep rim.

5. Distribute the crumbled sausage and kale evenly over the pizza.

6. Whisk together the sour cream, eggs, salt, pepper and Tabasco. Carefully pour the filling over the top of the pizza to fill the crust. Distribute the mozzarella evenly and place spoonfuls of ricotta over the top.

7. Bake the pizza 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set and the crust is browned.

Each serving: 523 calories; 18 grams protein; 42 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 31 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 150 mg. cholesterol; 493 mg. sodium.