Norwegian French Toast (Arme Riddere)

Norwegian French toast — arme riddere — made with two-day-old sourdough, cardamom and cinnamon, caramelized in butter and served with raspberries.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Soaking 10

Total Time 35

Servings: 6 slices

Course: Breakfast, brunch, Dessert

Cuisine: Nordic, Norwegian, Scandinavian

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

French toast

6 slices two-day-old sourdough bread about 1 cm / ½ inch thick, from a rustic loaf
2 large eggs
200 ml whole milk ¾ cup + 1 tbsp
2 tbsp granulated sugar 25 g, for the custard
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cardamom
2 tbsp butter 30 g, for frying
1 tbsp granulated sugar 12 g, for sprinkling in the pan

To serve

200 g fresh raspberries 1½ cups
80 g raspberry jam ¼ cup
1 tbsp honey to drizzle
1 tbsp powdered sugar for dusting

Equipment

Serrated bread knife For clean ½-inch slices from a crusty sourdough loaf
Mixing bowl Wide enough to lay the slices flat so the crust soaks evenly.
Balloon whisk Gets the eggs, milk and spices fully emulsified in under a minute.
Non-stick frying pan A 28 cm / 11-inch pan fits five slices at once
Wire cooling rack The single most important tool here: it keeps the finished slices crisp instead of steaming soggy on a plate.
Digital kitchen scale We bake and cook by weight

Method

Cut the sourdough into 1 cm / ½ inch slices. We use bread that's two days old — dry enough to soak up the custard without falling apart. Three days works just as well.
Whisk the eggs, milk, 2 tbsp sugar, cinnamon and cardamom together until fully combined and slightly foamy.
Lay the slices in the custard and let them soak. Give the crust extra time in the liquid — it needs longer than the crumb to soften. Turn them once so both sides are evenly soaked.
Melt the butter in a wide pan over medium-low heat and let it foam.
Fry the slices on medium-low. Just before flipping, sprinkle a little sugar over the top of each slice.
Turn the slices, raise the heat to medium and fry until deep golden and caramelized on both sides.
Move the finished slices straight onto a wire rack — never a plate — so the crust stays crisp while you fry the rest.
Serve warm, stacked, with raspberries, raspberry jam, a drizzle of honey and a dusting of powdered sugar.

Notes

Chef's tip: the sugar you sprinkle into the pan before flipping is what makes the difference. It hits the hot butter and caramelizes directly against the bread, so you get a thin, crackly, almost brûléed surface instead of a soft eggy one. A pinch is enough — too much and it burns before the slice is golden.

On the bread: a well-fermented sourdough with an open crumb gives you the best of both — the large holes drink up the custard, and the chewy crust holds everything together in the pan. Two days old is our sweet spot; three still works.

Make it sharper: a little grated fresh ginger or a few turns of black pepper in the custard cuts through the sweetness beautifully, and works with both raspberries and honey.