Crunchy toasted Brioche topped with jam and almonds creates an irresistible pastry called Bostock.
As simple as it sounds (and is to make) once you’ve tasted it, I’m willing to bet that you’ll be telling everyone about it. I’ll go ahead and call this the Ultimate French Toast in the sense that it puts French toast to shame.
Bostock may not sound like the fanciest pastry or bakery treat, but I’m telling you now that this is absolutely positively irresistible.
I tried Bostock for the first time while visiting my friend Rebecca in Western New York several years ago.
There is an amazing bakery called Elm Street Bakery in East Aurora that we visited a couple of times, and their list of tempting treats goes on for days. When I spied the Bostock, I had to try it.
Bostock
Bostock is made with a sweet bread cut into slices and spread with a thin fruit glaze and topped with an almond spread. A sprinkling of sliced almonds goes on top and then it is baked until crispy.
Brioche is the most common bread used for making Bostock, but challah works too and can often be easier to find.
The taste reminds me of Italian Pine Nut Cookies (aka Pignoli Cookies) or these Italian Almond Cookies, which makes sense, as those cookies are made with almond paste as the main ingredient.
I am sitting here struggling for words because I love this so much. I compare it to French Toast, except that it is so much simpler and tastes better by a mile.
I made this recipe twice, in the week after I returned home, and I have been making Bostock on repeat ever since.
As we sat in the bakery, Rebecca and I chatted about how to recreate the Bostock at home. The bread is topped with a toasted frangipane.
All you need to make frangipane is almond meal, sugar, butter, and an egg. It makes a heavenly topping for this Bostock and it literally takes just a few minutes.
While I’m sharing traditional Bostock here in all its glorious almond deliciousness, Rebecca dreamed up a Nutella Raspberry Bostock and shared hers as well.
I’m thinking there are endless flavor combinations possible and we are duty bound to try them all, right?
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