Strawberry Almond Bostock

Sometimes I am amazed by how many new words I’ve learned baking all these recipes from Dessert Person, including “Bostock” from the Strawberry Almond Bostock recipe. After trying this cousin of French toast, I’m wondering a.) how I have gone this long without ever trying such a scrumptious dessert and b.) why more restaurants are not serving this as a brunch item.

Before I explain the process, I have a confession; I did not make the brioche bread from scratch for this one. Truth be told, I’ve made the brioche dough several times now—I get it. Also, it’s breakfast, and I don’t want to put an immense amount of effort into breakfast food! While it was technically cheating, I don’t feel bad about it; I was actually curious to see how a grocery store brioche loaf would compare to homemade, and I have to say it was really delicious.

While I skipped making the brioche bread, I did make the Honey Almond Syrup and Frangipane. First of all, for anyone who is baking through Dessert Person, was it not the nicest thing ever to read “Congrats, you’re making the easiest recipe in the book!” when you made the Honey Almond Syrup?! All I had to do was combine honey, almond extract, salt and water.

Also, why is this the first time Frangipane has ever entered my life? This pastry mixture is what dreams are made of. I did not feel like taking out the food processor for this, so I used almond flour instead of sliced almonds. I mixed it with butter and sugar until it was creamy, then I added a whole egg, an egg yolk, almond extract, all-purpose flour and salt. I want Frangipane to be a cookie; it’s sweet in an addictive way I’m not sure I can describe. Basically, (in my opinion) you could add it to anything and it would improve the taste.

After I had all the components ready for the Strawberry Almond Bostock, I toasted sliced almonds for about eight minutes. While those cooled, I sliced the strawberries and combined them in a bowl with sugar.

I placed four slices of brioche bread on a parchment lined baking sheet and brushed both sides with the honey almond syrup. Claire says you may not use it all, but I did, which made me wonder how you would have enough for more slices (I only made four since it was just for my husband and me). Then I spread strawberry jam over each slice. After that, I added two tablespoons of the frangipane over the jam and spread it all over the bread slices. I spooned on half the strawberries and baked the bread for about 25 minutes.

When I pulled out the bread, the frangipane was melted all over and even browned a bit on the edges. I broke off those edges and it came off fine. I added the rest of the strawberries and sprinkled on the toasted almonds, and breakfast was served.

Even though I used store bought brioche bread, I would argue this was one of my most successful bakes from Dessert Person. The reason—my husband loved it. He has tried a lot of great food, and is not afraid to clarify where the flavor is lacking. The strawberry jam works wonderfully with the decadent frangipane. The brioche bread has a nice chewy bite and works great with strawberries. Lastly, the toasted almonds give the final crunch you’re looking for to make this dessert so complete. If I ever open a restaurant, you can bet this will be on the menu.

Claire has not yet made this dessert on her YouTube channel, but I will share it if she does!