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

📝 Ingredients

• 3 peaches (ripe but firm)
• 12 cardamom pods
• 150 g caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp
• juice of 1 orange
• 3 medium eggs
• 150 ml whole milk
• 4 x 2.5cm-thick slices brioche (cut from a 400g Taste the Difference Brioche Loaf)
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 175 ml double cream
• icing sugar, to dust

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Cut 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.
2. 2Put 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.
3. 3Whisk 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.
4. 4Heat 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.
5. 5Whip 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.