45 mins
Spice Bread (Pain d'épices)
Recipe by Graham
Pain d'épice (Spice Bread) is a Christmas favourite in France. It's very similar to a gingerbread loaf, though there are more spices involved. It also has plenty of other uses in cooking, such as in my delicious recipe for Foie Gras Escalopes on Spice Bread or, equally nice, Foie Gras Escalopes with Dates and Pears (Escalopes de foie gras panées aux dattes et au pain d'épice, poires rôties).
Spaghetti Bolognese 
Spiced Bobotie with Apricot Glaze Ingredients for Spice Bread (Pain d'épices)
Currently displaying quantities in US Imperial Measurements
How to Cook Spice Bread (Pain d'épices)
- Gently warm the milk in a saucepan, then add the honey and stir well to melt the honey and fuse the two together. Place the butter in another saucepan and gently melt it. Add it to the milk and honey and stir. Add the flour, little by little, stirring briskly all the time to avoid lumps.
- Incorporate the brown sugar, the egg and the salt, mixing constantly. Add the spices, crushed nuts, and coconut. (You can adjust the spices to suit your own taste.) Grate the zest from the orange and add to the mix.
- Pour the mix into an oblong cake (or bread) tin and bake in a preheated moderately hot oven (Mk 5 - 375ºF - 190ºC) for 30 to 35 minutes. Turn out onto a wire tray and allow to cool.
GRAHAM'S HOT TIP:
You can test if your Spice Bread is cooked by inserting a knitting needle or metal skewer. If the dough sticks to the needle, cook a little longer until the needle comes out clean.
What To Eat Tonight
Christmas is that special time of year when diets go out of the window and folks spend more time preparing beautiful meals.
Jam, jelly, pickle, chutney, dips, sweet and savory preserves, we have them all so that you can easily find exactly what you want.
Lamb is sometimes thought of as "tough" meat but, properly cooked, it is one of the finest meats for both everyday and when entertaining.
Other Baking Recipes
Baking is a culinary skill that sounds complex but is usually horribly easy... and Mother's Oat Cookies is a perfect example of that.
Crunchy Honeycomb Biscuits are my favourite, having that exquisite blend of 'crunchiness' that separates any home made cookie from a shop-bought one.
These scones get their light flaky texture from the butter that is layered into the dough. An absolute delight with a cup of tea on a summer afternoon
