Golden milk French toast with figs

(Pictured previous page) Makes 4-6 slices (depending on bread size) Golden milk – the ultimate Ayurvedic drink made with turmeric, black pepper, cinnamon and other spices – is caffeine-free, warming and delicious. I’ve used the same flavours in this recipe, which makes the perfect weekend treat. You can make the golden milk mixture up to three days in advance and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Fresh raspberries work well instead of figs.

For the golden milk

— 1 x 400ml tin of full-fat

coconut milk

— ½ tsp ground turmeric

— 1 tsp coconut nectar or maple syrup (or runny honey, if you’re not vegan), plus extra to serve

— ½ tsp ground

cardamom

— 1 tsp ground cinnamon

— ¼ tsp ground black

pepper

— 1 tbsp ground flaxseed

For the toast

—4-6 slices of sourdough bread (stale is best) — coconut oil, for frying — 1-2 fresh ripe figs per person, halved or quartered Blitz all the golden milk ingredients in a blender and pour into a shallow dish. Leave for 10 minutes, then whisk with a fork to make sure the spices are not all sat at the bottom.

Soak the slices of sourdough in the golden milk mixture (in batches if needed), flipping carefully so both sides of the bread are totally saturated.

Heat a tiny bit of coconut oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Carefully add the soaked bread to the pan. Do not crowd the pan – you will need to fry the bread in batches or have a couple of frying pans on the go. This vegan French toast takes longer to crisp up than the classic egg-based version. Be patient. Wait until the mixture in the pan has soaked into the bread and the first sides are properly crispy before carefully flipping the slices over and cooking the second sides. It will take about 8-10 minutes on each side. If the slices are starting to get too brown but have not got crispy yet, turn the heat down.

Once both sides of the toast are golden and crispy, plate up and serve with extra nectar or syrup and fresh figs.