Pain d’épices or spice bread is a classic French quick bread which originated in the Middle Ages. Aside from grinding spices, the cake takes just minutes to prepare and keeps well. In fact, like many honey or spice cakes, it tastes best a couple of days after baking when the spices and honey meld and soften. Grind the spices with a pestle and mortar, spice grinder or use fresh ground spices. If you can’t find all the spices pre-ground, Chinese 5 spice (which typically contains star anise, cloves, cinnamon, pepper and fennel) would be a good substitute alongside ground coriander and ginger.

This recipe was kindly sent in by Lucie Chaumeton who now lives in London but comes from France. Lucie recommends serving it with a low sugar fruit compote such as Bramley apples or red currants and I enjoyed it spread with butter. The bread is traditionally made with rye flour, but Lucie says it also works with bread flour or gluten-free alternatives. 

Serves:   12 slices                            Preparation:  20 minutes + cooking time.

Ingredients
20g     Cinnamon
2         Star anise
10       Cloves
10g     Coriander seeds
7g        Fennel seeds
1tsp     Ground ginger
¼         Grated nutmeg (½ tsp)
350g    Honey
350g    Wholemeal rye flour
1.5tsp  Bicarbonate of soda
250g    Water

Tip:   Prepare the spices ahead and store surplus in a jar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170°C (150°C fan) and line a 2lb (1 kilo) loaf pan
2. Finely grind the spices in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder (see introduction and tip).
3. Combine the honey, flour, bicarbonate of soda, and 3–4 tbsp of the spice mix (around 15–25g) with 250g of water and mix well until no patches of flour remain.
4. Pour into the tin and bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes, covering the top of the bread with foil after 45 minutes if it gets too brown. Test that the cake is cooked by inserting a skewer or cocktail stick into the centre and checking that no batter clings when you pull it out.
5. Allow to fully cool before slicing or wrap the loaf up for a couple of days to enhance the flavours.