Delightful Desserts
Spiced Honey Cake
There is a time of year when winter has not yet arrived, but we've already dug up a Christmas tree from the forest, positioned it by the window and decorated it. As darkness falls, we light up the garlands, and there's the tree, sprinkled with snow and bringing joy as the festive season approaches. I gaze at it and reminisce about Christmas Eve in Bourron-Marlotte, a magical little town near Fontainebleau, where we spent a year at business school. One late evening, we ventured out into the crisp cold air, strolling through the winding cobblestone streets and finding ourselves completely alone. Our neighbours were all snug at home, with most of them lighting their fireplaces. The air was filled with the comforting scent of smoke and the festive lights added to the enchanting atmosphere. As the school year drew to a close, I soaked up that moment with all my heart – we had never felt so content as we did in that first year in France. Now let me share with you a Christmas baking tradition that is closely linked to the festive season but can be enjoyed all year round: the delightful pain d'épices, a fragrant honey cake with a rich spiced flavour that you really must try baking yourself.
Ingredients
- First, grind the special spice mix:
- 20 g ground cinnamon
- 2 star anise
- 10 cloves
- 10 g coriander seeds
- 7 g aniseed
- 1 dessert spoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Then the cake ingredients:
- 160 g flour
- 160 g blossom honey
- 60 g butter
- 1–2 dessert spoons of the prepared spice mix
- 7 g baking soda
- 70 g milk
- 65 g cane sugar
Method
- 1Preheat your oven to 155°C. Melt the butter and leave it to cool.
- 2Gently melt the honey over a low heat.
- 3Mix the flour, spices and baking soda.
- 4Combine the honey with the milk, then add the butter and the dry mix. Stir well and then incorporate the cane sugar.
- 5Grease and lightly flour a standard-sized loaf tin, then pour in the mixture.
- 6Bake for 1 hour without opening the oven door to prevent the cake from sinking or cracking. Check the cake is cooked using a wooden skewer, then allow it to cool in the tin on a wire rack.
- 7The cake can be stored for several days wrapped in baking paper.
