Cardamom & Cinnamon Baked French Toast and Honied Apricots
I’m not a fan of deep-frying, but this recipe wasn’t about being “healthy.” It came about during my cookie recipe development, and I liked it so much I turned it into its own thing. While my cookie recipe doesn’t use eggs, they’re essential here, along with custard powder for flavour and colour. Baking the bread and fruit together keeps things simple yet fancy. Fresh apricots work best, but you can swap in other stone fruits. Cardamom adds a unique twist to the usual cinnamon, making this breakfast feel extra special—and yes, you’ll want another slice.
Serves 2
Hands-on Time 10 minutes (plus chilling)
Baking Time 25 minutes
Ingredients
2 apricots
1 tbsp runny honey
2 1/2 tsp demerara sugar (divided)
1/2 tsp ground cardamom (plus a pinch)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (plus a pinch)
2 tbsp custard powder
2 tbsp caster sugar
2 large eggs
120ml full-fat milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 slices thick-cut bread
1 tbsp icing sugar
Equipment
Knife
Baking dish
Baking sheet
Baking parchment
Small bowl
Wide-shallow bowl
Whisk
Sieve
Method
1. Prepare the apricots
Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C (fan)/325°F/Gas Mark 3.
Halve and stone the apricots. Place them cut-side up in a baking dish.
Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp demerara sugar.
2. Make the spiced custard mixture
In a small bowl, mix 1/2 tsp each of ground cardamom and cinnamon.
In a wide-shallow bowl, whisk together the custard powder, caster sugar, and 1 egg until smooth. Add the second egg and whisk again.
Gradually whisk in the milk and vanilla extract.
3. Prepare the bread
Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Dip each slice of bread into the custard mixture, coating both sides. Sprinkle a pinch of the spice mix on top.
Place the bread spiced-side down on the lined sheet. Repeat with the remaining slices, reserving some spice mix.
Sprinkle the remaining spice mix and 2 tsp demerara sugar over the bread.
4. Bake
Bake the bread and apricots on the middle shelf for 25 minutes, or until golden.
5. Make the spiced icing sugar
Mix a pinch of cardamom and cinnamon with the icing sugar in a small bowl.
6. Serve
Plate the toast and apricots, spooning any syrup from the apricots over the fruit.
Sieve the spiced icing sugar over the toast and apricots.
Enjoy!
