Challah French Toast with Roasted Apricots and Vanilla Mascarpone
Challah French toast with caramelized roasted apricots, vanilla mascarpone, and toasted almonds for crunch.
I bring you Challah French toast with roasted apricots and vanilla mascarpone. Breakfast doesn’t get more decadent than this.
With that said, the roasted apricots are the true star of this dish. Fresh apricots are sprinkled with sugar and roasted in the oven until lightly caramelized. Even the worst apricots will transform into lusciously tart apricots in the oven.
If you don’t have apricots, roasted plum compote would be another great choice!
Instead of just eating them plain or with yogurt, I recently got the idea to pair them with Challah French toast. For added texture, we’ll add toasted almonds. Apricots and almonds pair wonderfully together!
Somewhere along the brainstorming process, I got the idea to add vanilla mascarpone. It is made with a simple mixture of mascarpone, scraped vanilla bean, and vanilla extract.
It is rich and wonderful and melts slightly on the hot French toast.
Challah French Toast with Roasted Apricots, Vanilla Mascarpone, and Toasted Almonds
Ingredients
Roasted Apricots:
- 1 lb (16 ounces) fresh apricots pitted and sliced in half
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- juice of ½ lemon
Vanilla Mascarpone:
- ½ cup mascarpone cheese room temperature
- ½ vanilla bean beans scraped
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch kosher salt
Challah French Toast:
- 4 large eggs
- ¾ cup (180 mL) whole milk
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4-5 (1-inch thick) slices Challah bread preferably stale or several days old
- unsalted butter
Toppings:
- ⅓ cup toasted sliced almonds
- powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
- pure maple syrup warm
Instructions
- Roast Apricots: Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) with a rack in the center position. Place the apricot halves, cut-side facing up, in a large baking dish or on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle the apricots evenly with the sugar and squeeze the lemon juice over them. Roast for 35 to 45 minutes, or until soft and just starting to caramelize. Allow to cool on a rack.
- Prepare Vanilla Mascarpone: Combine the room temperature mascarpone cheese with the scraped vanilla bean seeds, vanilla extract, and salt. Set aside.
- Prepare Challah French Toast: In a large shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs, whole milk, sugar, ground cinnamon, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth.
- Heat a tab of butter in a large non-stick (or cast iron) skillet over medium-high heat until small bubbles form. Soak the challah slices, one at a time, in the egg mixture, turning until just saturated. Allow excess egg mixture to drip off and place into the pan. The bread should immediately sizzle. Cook the french toast until golden brown on both sides. Note: Cook the French toast in batches to avoid over-crowding the pan.
- To serve, top the hot French toast with several apricot halves and a small spoonful of vanilla mascarpone. Sprinkle with toasted almond slices, dust with powdered sugar, and serve with hot maple syrup.
41 Comments on “Challah French Toast with Roasted Apricots and Vanilla Mascarpone”
Yumm yumm.. My kids will definitely love this… Thanks a lot…
Thanks Tina!
Dying to try these, but may have to go in increments! I’ll just try roasting the apricots for now! Don’t trust myself not to eat all of them, as i am the only one in the house right now! Fabulous photos!
I have had a similar relationship with apricots until I tried this variety called candycots. WHOA. Life changing. They are just as sweet and intensely flavored as dried apricots. I was impressive. I think they’re kind of hard to find, though, so I will definitely be roasting from here on out!
OMG! This has to be the most decadent looking french toast, ever. I NEED! And pinned 🙂
Thanks Kiran!! 🙂
This sounds absolutely fabulous Laura! I grew up eating apricots straight off the tree in our backyard and I still didn’t love them. Sometimes you find a good one, but it’s rare. I’m so going to try roasting them! Plus, challah. Ummm yeah.
Holy cow — that vanilla mascarpone!!! Wow.
Haha! Thanks Rachel! 🙂
Those roasted apricots look sooooo good!! LOVE it!
I want this now!
I can’t buy/eat challah without saying “holllllllaaa” an obnoxious number of times 🙂 Your photos are lovely and this looks delish. Love the mascarpone cream! And roasting lackluster fruit is spot on.
Haha! Glad I’m not the only one who does that! Thanks so much Laura!
Ummmm so THIS needs to happen in my life ASAP.
Wish I could bring you some!! Thanks friend!
I know I ALWAYS say this about your posts, but this french toast is GORGEOUS! I love the tip for roasting the apricots, I have the same problems with peaches until the end of July, I imagine it would work with them as well!
This looks so good.
And on that note, it’s totally going to be a breakfast for dinner kinda night!
Haha! 🙂
I NEED this French Toast!
Thanks Maria! 🙂 Wish I could bring you a plate!
The addition of the mascapone!! This is one heck of a french toast recipe. I agree about roasting the apricots. I just made a baked apricot tart yesterday and as I was putting it together I tasted one of the apricots and thought “oh no, they have no flavor!” but after they were baked they were totally transformed into sweet-tart jewels of apricot-y goodness. : )
Thanks Crystal! Your apricot frangipane tart was gorgeous!! That is one of my favorite desserts ever.
I am converted, I will never not roast my apricots ever again! They are up there with pears to me, maybe like you said it is bad luck, but I do find they are often boring. Great tip. And the bread looks a.w.e.s.o.m.e.
YES! 🙂 I totally know what you mean about pears. I love bartlett pears by themselves, but some other varieties (Bosc, etc.) definitely taste better cooked!
This is gorgeous and I can just imagine the flavours. I love cooked apricots. Must try this!
Love, love cooked apricots! Thanks Jen! Let me know if you do!
This actually sounds like my childhood wrapped up in a french toast! I remember sitting at my grandma’s kitchen table and just devouring apricots! She would also always seem to have a package of dried ones around during the off season. I am definitely going to have to get my butt in gear and make my own load of challah and then immediately afterwards make this!!
Welp, this looks like the be-all/end-all of divine breakfast foods. Wow. I’d be DONE — how to ever top it?!
This looks beyond fantastic!! I don’t know that it’s an east/west coast difference – I grew up in CA and never really saw people buying apricots to eat them raw (my family certainly never did). I remember reading earlier this year in the Flavor Bible that apricots are one of the rare fruits that are better cooked/poached/roasted/grilled than raw. I’ll have to pick some up so I can make this next weekend – yum!!
Oh wow! Maybe it’s just an apricot thing then? I’ve heard they are amazing off the vine–but I totally agree with the Flavor Bible, they really shine best when roasted/poached/cooked.
I love every single thing about this recipe! The pictures are absolutely stunning and I really want to dive into a plateful right now for my dinner! 🙂
Thank you so, so much Jess! 🙂
I love your writing so much! And I feel you with the apricots… I think it must be an East Coast thing because everyone I know out west can shovel them down raw. Ugh. Roasted looks delicious though and the challah is genius! Yum 🙂
Thank you so, so much Medha! I feel like that is the part of this whole blogging thing that I struggle the most with–so that really means so much to me! 🙂
mmmmmmmmm, I may come over for breakfast this weekend.
Oh my goodness. Yes. Just Yes.
Thanks!! 🙂
Oh my. I love every aspect of this! Especially the vanilla bean marscapone!!! You’re very talented!
Challah french toast is so good and yours, with those juicy apricots and vanilla mascarpone, this is a breakfast worth getting up for – pinned!
Thanks Averie! (Also, I realized I must have just been scrolling forever in IG the other night–because I definitely didn’t go to bed at 7 PM EST, haha!)