Cardamom brioche with peaches and cream
Prep time: 50 minsTotal time: 
Cardamom brioche with peaches and cream
Sweet, juicy peaches and softly whipped cream are a match made for summer, but a hint of cardamom gives this recipe an unexpected twist. Poaching the peaches with orange and spice intensifies their flavour and texture, creating a fragrant topping for golden French toast finished with cream – delicious for dessert or brunch
Prep time: 50 minsTotal time: 
Abigail Spooner
Abi is our Head of Food. She loves the precision and creativity of baking, turning fridge odds-and-ends into a weeknight pasta, and is always bookmarking new restaurants to try. She's happiest hosting friends around a table overflowing with food (and insisting everyone has seconds) or planning holidays around what to eat.
Abigail Spooner
Abi is our Head of Food. She loves the precision and creativity of baking, turning fridge odds-and-ends into a weeknight pasta, and is always bookmarking new restaurants to try. She's happiest hosting friends around a table overflowing with food (and insisting everyone has seconds) or planning holidays around what to eat.
Ingredients
- 3 peaches (ripe but firm)
- 12 cardamom pods
- 150g caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp
- juice of 1 orange
- 3 medium eggs
- 150ml whole milk
- 4 x 2.5cm-thick slices brioche (cut from a 400g Taste the Difference Brioche Loaf)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
To serve
- 175ml double cream
- icing sugar, to dust
Step by step
-
Cut each peach into 8 wedges, discarding the stones. Bash half the cardamom pods to just split them open. Remove the seeds from the remaining cardamom pods and finely grind using a pestle and mortar; set aside.
-
Put 150g caster sugar in a pan (large enough to fit the peach wedges in a single layer) with 200ml water, the orange juice and the bashed cardamom pods. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes until the mixture is lightly syrupy. Add the peaches and poach gently for 3-5 minutes, or until slightly softened but not falling apart – they will continue to soften as they cool. Remove from the heat, put a lid on the pan and leave the peaches to cool and infuse in the syrup.
-
Whisk the eggs, milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar and the ground cardamom in a wide bowl with a pinch of salt. One slice at a time, soak the brioche in the egg mixture for 20 seconds on each side.
-
Heat the oil in a large nonstick frying pan, then cook half the brioche slices over a medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until golden. Repeat with the remaining soaked brioche. Meanwhile, use a slotted spoon to remove the poached peaches from the syrup.
-
Whip the cream in a large bowl until softly whipped. Divide the warm brioche among serving plates, then top with the poached peaches (avoiding the cardamom pods) and a little of the poaching syrup. Spoon over the whipped cream, dust with icing sugar and serve.
Use the leftover poaching syrup to dress fresh fruit salads or add to cocktails. Reduce in a pan for a stronger flavour or more syrupy consistency.
