Spice up your breakfast with a batch of Vanilla Cardamom French Toast! Sliced brioche is dipped in a vanilla, cardamom and nutmeg custard and griddled until golden. Serve with butter, syrup, toasted almonds and powdered sugar for one delicious breakfast! Serves 6.
One thing I love about the weekends, besides the obvious, is that I get to make breakfast for my family.
Typically Sunday breakfasts consist of eggs and bacon or pancakes and bacon. On the menu this past Sunday morning was French toast and endless cups of coffee. I swear I’ll find any excuse to use bread or a griddle!
However my intentions were to just making some basic ol’ french toast, until I opened my spice drawer to grab the vanilla and spied the cardamom. Could it work? Of course it did. And so I blogged about it.
This breakfast wins the award for best flavor and best aroma. So, prepare to fall in love the second you place the custard dipped bread onto the griddle and get wafts of the vanilla, nutmeg and cardamom laced egg batter.
To Make This Vanilla Cardamom French Toast You will Need:
- eggs – Adds richness and will firm the custard while the French toast cooks.
- milk – Lends moisture to the French toast custard.
- bread – Brioche is my favorite bread to use in this recipe, but almost any will work.
- vanilla extract – Adds warmth and enhances all of the other flavors in this recipe.
- ground cardamom – Slightly citrusy with notes of mint and pepper.
- nutmeg – Warm, aromatic with subtle hints of clove.
- coconut or olive oil spray – Used for greasing the griddle or pan.
- salted butter – Slather over warm French toast when serving.
- real maple syrup – Drizzle desired amount over French toast when serving.
- sliced almonds – Optional for serving, but does add nutty flavor and some crunch.
- powdered sugar – Optional for a touch of sweetness when serving.
First crack 4 large eggs into a shallow dish.
Then measure and add in 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg.
What is cardamom?
It is a potent citrusy spice, so if you are unsure if you are a cardamom fan, maybe try a quarter teaspoon.
Next, whisk until thoroughly combined..
Then pour in two cups of milk and whisk some more. It’s insanely aromatic and I seriously couldn’t help from taking in deep breaths of the egg mixture!
Then dip one side in the egg mixture and then quickly flip to the other side. Repeat with the remaining 17 slices of brioche. NOTE: You will have to keep whisking here and there in between bread dipping because the cardamom likes to settle to the bottom of the dish.
Now, See those black specks? That would be the cardamom and nutmeg!
Then place onto a lightly oiled, preheated 325-350° griddle, or medium to medium-high heat if using a pan. The temperature will depend on the griddle you are using.
Next, flip after 3 minutes or when the bottom is golden and then repeat.
Lastly, serve the vanilla cardamom French toast with butter, syrup and I prefer mine with toasted sliced almonds too.
Because helllooo?! extra crunch in the form of almonds is never a bad thing.
HOW LONG WILL FRENCH TOAST LAST IN THE FRIDGE:
Got leftover French toast? Save it and enjoy it later in the week! Store the French toast in an air-tight container or resealable bag/stasher bag (to avoid drying out or absorbing fridge odors) and refrigerate for up to 3 to 5 days.
CAN FRENCH TOAST BE FROZEN?
Absolutely! Flash freeze the French toast first on a rimmed baking sheet for 30 minutes, portion serving amounts into resealable baggies (or stasher bags) and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FRENCH TOAST RECIPES!
Enjoy! And if you give this Vanilla Cardamom French Toast recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
Vanilla Cardamom French Toast
Ingredients
FOR THE FRENCH TOAST:
- 18 slices brioche
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- coconut oil spray, for griddle
FOR SERVING (OPTIONAL):
- salted butter
- real maple syrup
- toasted almonds
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- Wipe or spray your griddle with coconut oil and preheat to 325° to 350°. The temperature will depend on the griddle.
- Meanwhile, use a whisk to beat the eggs with vanilla, ground cardamom and nutmeg.
- Pour in the whole milk and gently whisk to combine.
- Dip both sides of each slice of bread into the custard and place onto a wire rack set into a rimmed metal sheet pan and repeat with the remaining slices of bread. *You will have to keep whisking here and there in between bread dipping because the cardamom and nutmeg tends to settle in the bottom of the dish.
- Working in batches, place the dipped bread onto your preheated griddle and cook for 3 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown.
- Flip and continue to cook for 1 to 2 more minutes. Repeat with remaining pieces. Keep the French toast warm on a rimmed metal baking sheet in a 200° oven.
- Serve with butter, real maple syrup, toasted almonds and powdered sugar.
Notes
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THANK YOU in advance for your support!
I love the spice combination! I always use vanilla but never would have thought to use cardamom. I'll have to give it a try next time!
I am totally obsessed with cardamom! Usually I use cinnamon in my french toast but after reading your cardamom version, cinnamon seems so boring & plain…time to set up the game with cardamom 🙂 Awesome idea can't wait to try it!!
I too use vanilla but must try the cardamom..hmmm..
I've never had cardamom. Must head to Penzey's and check it out!
Amy @ A Little Nosh
that looks really good! I love cardamom…but never had it on a sweet thing before, a must try.
Oh that sounds yummy!!
Oh this sounds delicious! I actually just bought cardamom for the first time – so I might have to try it out here!
Great idea adding cardamom!
I just made these for breakfast and they were delicious! I love the flavor that the cardamom gives to the french toast!
So glad you liked them Haley!
I love the addition of cardamom…I typically use it in my bread pudding and it's such a lovely, warm flavor. I've realized why my french toast is missing that beautifully dense, golden accent. I use too much milk, not enough egg. Thank you for this perfect recipe, I'll be trying ASAP.
This sounds delicious! I love new takes on French toast!
I also really enjoy your pictures for your recipes – they're clear and turn out so beautifully! New follower!
Yummmm! I'll be over this weekend for brunch thank you very much 🙂
Love the addition of cardamom. This french toast sounds delicious for a weekend morning.
Oh my, I love french toast but haven't had it in way too long. And cardamom is one of my favorite spices! I usually like it in fruit desserts but this sounds great. I love that you used coconut oil, the unrefined oil is so yummy!
Yum, yum yum! I love French toast, and I'm always looking for new things to use cardamom in. I bought some a while ago but don't really know what all I can do with it. This looks great.
Finally got around to buying cardamom after wanting to for awhile and I made this recipe – Fiance & I loved it! Best french toast I’ve ever had!
That’s great to hear, Rachelle! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a review! <3
Daughter used similar recipe but used half & half for whole milk. Just yummy. trying it myself this weekend.
Oh that’s great to hear, Juanita! Enjoy!
Hi Can I use it without Nutmeg ?
sure!
I just tried this recipe and it was great! It’s lovely to have something different once in a while.
That’s awesome, Ash! Me too!
Sounds delicious! Going to try it today. Like others, I have an unopened bottle of cardamom on the spice shelf not knowing what to do with it. It’s one of those spices heralded as a nice healthy addition to recipes. So what’s the hesitation? I must say, though, my online edition of your recipe does NOT list amounts of ingredients and the number of servings. There are hints – four eggs, two cups of milk, lessen cardamom to one-quarter teaspoon – but there are no amounts on the ingredients list. Same with number of servings. Did I not see it? Is something wrong with my laptop?
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Hi Laurie, My sister sent me a link to this recipe. I just used cardamom in a pumpkin cheesecake by the Pioneer Woman and so I happen to have the spice. This sounded delicious, so I made it this morning using Sara Lee Artisan sliced bread. I only have whole almonds, so I sliced them myself and baked them at 400°F in my convection oven in the bacon grease left in the pan from the bacon I just baked. I only baked them for 2 min then stirred and baked another 2 min before taking them out. Don’t know what toasted almonds are supposed to taste like but I like the flavor with the hint of bacon! Anyway, this recipe was good! I soaked the bread through and fried them in my cast iron pan, but we didn’t like the moist center. My bad. We prefer more crunchy, so next time I make this, I’ll only add 1Tbsp of milk per egg and won’t soak the bread. Again, that was on me. Also, we are new to using cardamom, so I’ll use less of that next time, as well as leave out the nutmeg or only use a pinch of it. And I will use a better bread as well as try preheating my cast iron pizza pan in the oven and just baking them because I don’t have an electric griddle. Laurie, I really enjoyed the toasted almonds on this too! I served it with bacon but I think it would be great on its own. Thanks for another great recipe! Our favorite so far is the chicken pot pie! Yum! Thanks for the great recipes. I look forward to trying many more!
I made this with half of the custard and 6 large slices of challah, which was a perfect amount. Texture and egg-to-milk ratio in general was great. I’d previously used more egg, but this proportion worked better.
I was a bit disappointed that I could barely taste or smell the cardamom, but it might be because my jar of cardamom is nearly 2 years old. Next time maybe I’ll freshly grind some whole cardamoms.