Gingerbread!

The French might have become famous for fancier, more delicate desserts such as crème brulée or mousse au chocolat, but if you ask me what my favorite is, I would say a nice slice of pain d’épice. The keystone ingredient is good-quality, thick, gooey honey, to which the bread owns its sticky texture and more subtle sweetness.

One weekend in November, I looked out my window and was seeing the passage of autumn to winter right before my eyes. Most of the leaves had fallen off the trees, and the ones that were lying on the ground were turning brittle and brown. Adding to the whole effect was the weather. It was raining like a vache qui pisse (like a cow pissing), as the French say…not one of their more poetic expressions.

What did I want to do? Spend the afternoon baking. And what better, I thought, than a pain d’epice?

The traditional French blend of quatre épices (cannelle, noix de muscade, clous de girofle, gingembre), that is, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger, brings a gentle spice that blossoms on your tongue. One bite warms you right up!

I decided to give my host mom S some advance warning, and she was instantly enthused with the idea. She hurried over to her recipe file and pulled one of them out with excitement. I already had a recipe, but with her cooking expertise and French heritage, I was curious to see hers. We glanced over the ingredient lists and techniques, lining them up side-by-side in comparison. Hmmmm. I wanted to try her recipe, but she wanted to try mine. How could we decide?

We couldn’t. Alas, it was decided upon that we should conduct a pain d’epice bake-off, a competition of sorts. The whole family joined in as taste testers and the result? Well, it was too difficult to decide. S’s recipe makes for a light and fluffy cake with a looser crumb, while mine is substantial and moist.

Want to give it a go yourself?

Traditional Pain d’epice

Note that it is a European-style recipe, requiring a scale to measure out the ingredients.

225 g butter
225 g sugar
360 g flour
150 g honey
3 eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon mix of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger
360 mL water

Cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the honey. Add eggs alternatively with flour, baking powder, and spices, and then stir in the cold water.

Clotilde Dusoulier’s “Honey Spice Loaf”
From Chocolate and Zucchini. New York: Broadway Books, 2007.

It tastes even better the day after it’s baked, once all the flavors of the spices have had a chance to blend together.

1 ½ cups milk
2/3 cup honey
1/3 cup molasses
1 cup flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (substitute: all-purpose)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons mix of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger

1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease loaf pan and line bottom with parchment paper.

2. Mix milk, honey, and molasses in a small saucepan over medium heat, and stir until dissolved but don’t let it boil. Set aside to cool.

3. In large mixing bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Make a hole in the center of the mixture, and pour in the milk mixture while stirring with a whisk. The batter will be thin. Pour into the loaf pan and bake 40 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

4. Let cool on wire rack for 20 minutes, run a knife along the sides of the pan, and flip the loaf out gently. Let cool completely before wrapping it in aluminum foil to keep.