Sahi Tukre/ Double ka meetha

I read about Sahi Tukre (Egg less bread pudding) through a recent post by Shayma of The spice spoon. Shamya writes beautiful stories with each post and I always look forward to reading them. Pictures of Sahi Tukre looked so delicious that I couldn't resist making them at an earliest opportunity.  Apparently, these are similar to a dessert called "Double ka meetha" in Hyderabad.  It was such a treat. I will surely be making this on a regular basis now.

(Adapted from Shayma's recipe to make half the quantity) 
Serves 4
5 white slices of bread
3/4 cup half and half (I made this with half  heavy cream and half milk)
3/4 heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
6 tablespoon water
3 cardamom
1 teaspoon saffron
1 tablespoon slivered almonds
1 teaspoon pistachio
1 teaspoon resins
2 teaspoon oil
2 tablespoon unsalted butter

-Preheat oven to 350F
- Remove edges of bread and cut diagonally or horizontally to make 10 pieces
- In a pan, put one teaspoon oil and one and half teaspoon butter
- Toast half of the bread pieces in the pan until crisp. When one side is toasted, place one and half teaspoon butter in the pan and flip the bread pieces and toast the other side
- Repeat for the next set of bread
- In another pan, mix sugar, water and cardamom in a pan. When the mixture starts boiling reduce heat to low and add crushed saffron and let it simmer for 10 minutes
- Now grease a 8X8 oven safe dish with butter
- Arrange bread slices in single layer in the dish to cover it completely
- Now evenly distribute half and half over the bread slices with spoon
- Then distribute the sugar mixture evenly over the half and half
- Finally, distribute heavy cream evenly over the sugar mixture
- Bake in oven for 30 minutes at 350F
- Decorate with almonds, resins, and pistachio
- Serve warm