Pain d'Épices (French Gingerbread Loaf)

 

I am sharing a lovely Pain d'Épices (French Gingerbread Loaf) recipe with you today.  This is something which I have wanted to try for a very long time. I do not know how many times I have book-marked a recipe and then not made it. I decided yesterday that the time was right and so I dug out one of the recipes I had marked.

This recipe has been adapted to make a small batch/one loaf only from a recipe I found on a blog called Mission Food Adventure.  The original recipe came from Sebastien Rouxel, former executive pastry chef for the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group (including Bouchon Bakery). 

Monsieur Rouxel grew up in the Loire Valley in France and has enjoyed a version of this spice bread throughout his life.  I wanted to enjoy it too!

The Loire Valley is an area of great beauty in France, several hundred Kilometers southwest from Paris.  We travelled through it on our way to the Bordeaux region one year when we went to the South of France on holiday. We did not enjoy any Pain d'Épices when we were there, but we did enjoy a few other things!

 

This is a beautiful gingerbread loaf with complex flavors.  Dark and dense, it is super moist with a delicate sweetness.  It is lovely and spicy.  I did not use the blackstrap molasses, instead preferring to use just regular molasses and I found it to be just molasses-ee enough!  Anymore molassess-ee and I felt it would just be too much for me!

Do make it a day ahead of the time you wish to enjoy eating it. That will give it enough time for the flavors to ripen into something very beautiful and enjoyable!  This was quite quite lovely with a nice hot cup of lemon and ginger tea.  A real taste treat on this very cold December's day!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE PAIN d'EPICES (FRENCH GINGERBREAD LOAF)

Just a few simple everyday baking cupboard ingredients.  There is nothing at all complicated about this simple loaf.

• 1 1/3 cup + 3 tsp (170g) plain all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp (4 grams) baking soda
• 1/2 TBS ground ginger
• 1/3 tsp ground cloves
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/3 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup (110g) soft dark brown sugar
• scant half cup (170g) blackstrap molasses (use dark treacle in the U.K.)
• 1/2 cup (120ml) neutral vegetable oil
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 6 fluid ounces (170ml) boiling water
• the finely grated zest of one lemon

 

I used ordinary fancy molasses for my cake/loaf. I am not very fond of blackstrap molasses, and I am also not fond of straight dark treacle. If you are by all means use the blackstrap or in the U.K., the dark treacle.  Personally, I felt that it would be a bit too intense for my own taste.

For vegetable oil I always like to use light olive oil. This has the same health properties as regular olive oil, but is much lighter in color and not as intense in flavor. You can use any flavorless vegetable oil that you like.

I did use the dark brown sugar. I sure wish I could get Demerara sugar here, but I cannot. If I could, I would use that as it has a lovely molasses kick.

Don't skip the lemon zest. It adds a lovely depth of additional flavor to the mix along with the spices.

 

HOW TO MAKE PAIN d'EPICES (FRENCH GINGERBREAD LOAF)

It's not really a difficult loaf to make.  The batter is very thin so don't think you have done something wrong when you see how thin it is. That's the way it's supposed to be!

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf tin and line with bottom with baking paper. Butter the paper.

Sift the flour, spices and salt together. Set aside.

Beat the brown sugar together with the molasses on low speed to break up any lumps and then on high speed or about a minute until smooth. Keep beating while slowly drizzling in the oil.

Scrape down the sides and then beat in the egg and lemon zest.

Add the dry ingredients in two lots, mixing on low after each addition. Add the water 1/4 cup at a time incorporating each lot before adding the next. The batter will be runny.

 

Pour into your prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for one hour, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Leave to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then tip out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Wrap tightly and store at room temperature for up to a week. Can be frozen for longer if properly wrapped.

This was a really rich and dense gingerbread loaf cake.  The flavors were quite intense, but not so much so that it was not enjoyable.  I did not use blackstrap molasses as I did not have any and I liked it just as is.  I am not sure I would enjoy it as much using blackstrap as that has a very strong flavor.

If you are looking for a lovely dense and gingery loaf, this is the perfect choice.  Spread with softened butter or as is, it is delicious both ways!

Hmmm . . .  I wonder how tasty it would be spread with some lemon curd?  Mm mm lemon curd gingerbread sandwiches.  Sounds very yummy to me!

 

If you love gingerbread as much as I do, you will probably also enjoy the following gingerbread cakes/bakes!

 EASY OLD-FASHIONED GINGERBREAD - This is a basic no-frills recipe. No bells and whistles. Simple ingredients, simply put together in a most delicious way. I would not add anything else. It is perfect just as it is.  PER-FECT!  Simple as that. Vintage recipes are like that. It is also very nice served with a lemon sauce, or a dollop of whipped cream on top, or both.

GINGERBREAD CAKE WITH LEMON CREAM - This fabulous Gingerbread Cake is one of my absolute favourites. Why? Because it is easy to throw together and the end result is moist and delicious with a beautiful crumb.  On its own it is a beautiful cake, baked in a Bundt pan and dusted with icing sugar.  That is my preferred tin to bake it in as it is really pretty, but you can also bake it in a 9-inch square tin or even in cupcake or muffin tins. The lemon whipped cream is a beautiful accompaniment. 

Yield: one loaf (8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inches)

Author: Marie Rayner

Pain d'Épices (French Gingerbread Loaf)

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 15 M

This is a deliciously moist and spicy loaf. It is darker and denser than the traditional gingerbread loaf. It's fabulous cut into slices and spread with softened butter. This is best made a day ahead in order to allow the flavors to deepen.

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cup + 3 tsp (170g) plain all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp (4 grams) baking soda
• 1/2 TBS ground ginger
• 1/3 tsp ground cloves
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/3 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup (110g) soft dark brown sugar
• scant half cup (170g) blackstrap molasses (use dark treacle in the U.K.)
• 1/2 cup (120ml) neutral vegetable oil
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 6 fluid ounces (170ml) boiling water
• the finely grated zest of one lemon

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf tin and line with bottom with baking paper. Butter the paper.
2. Sift the flour, spices and salt together. Set aside.
3. Beat the brown sugar together with the molasses on low speed to break up any lumps and then on high speed or about a minute until smooth. Keep beating while slowly drizzling in the oil.
4. Scrape down the sides and then beat in the egg and lemon zest.
5. Add the dry ingredients in two lots, mixing on low after each addition. Add the water 1/4 cup at a time incorporating each lot before adding the next. The batter will be runny.
6. Pour into your prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for one hour, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Leave to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then tip out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
8. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature for up to a week. Can be frozen for longer if properly wrapped.

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