Yummy and delicious, Pain d'epices is a traditional French gingerbread loaf infused with festive flavors and aromatic spices. This no-knead spiced bread is a beloved holiday treat and a wonderful gift option during Christmas time.
Christmas season is all about gingerbread: Gingerbread man cookies, Gingerbread Pavlova, and Gingerbread cookie ornaments.
Here is another festive seasonal favorite - French gingerbread loaf. It is great for the perfect breakfast, afternoon snack, or dessert all year round. It is the same as pampering yourself with Banana bread or French pumpkin pie at any time of the year.
And a quick reminder for a gingerbread lover: Gingerbread madeleines are a special teatime treat during the magical time of the year.
What is Pain d’Epices?
Pain d’Epices, French gingerbread, or French spice bread, is a soft and flavorful quick bread made with a blend of warm spices. While the literal translation is "spice bread," it is mistranslated as "gingerbread."
Gingerbread recipes vary across France. However, it is said that only three French regions have traditionally produced French pain d'epices: Dijon, Reims, and Strasbourg.
The pain d'épice contains ground spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, pepper, or cloves, aka a pain d’épices blend. Some cakes are made with only anise seeds, but the "most authentic recipe doesn't contain any ginger."
French gingerbread is egg- and butter-free, perfect for those with a food allergy. The last distinguishing thing is that it is made with sugar and a generous amount of honey to give the cake its unique taste.
If you are in the USA, visit Thomas Keller's Bouchon bakery to try their signature gingerbread bread. Alternatively, in France, be sure to visit Maison Mulot & Petitjean for a taste of their famous Dijon gingerbread, enjoyed since 1796.
Pain d'épices recipe
- As a holiday staple, the pain d’épices recipe is simple, even for a beginner baker.
- This gingerbread loaf is loaded with dried fruit that accentuates each slice. The aroma of freshly baked bread will waft through the house.
- Baked in a smaller loaf pan as a little tea loaf, French spice bread makes for a perfect dessert, a sweet treat, and a gift during the festive season.
Ingredients
For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.
- Honey: Use high-quality honey, such as flavorful buckwheat honey. For a gourmet version, switch honey for unsulphured molasses (made from ripe sugar cane), date syrup, or maple syrup and make a vegan gingerbread loaf.
- Warm spices: Use a mix of whole star anise, cinnamon sticks, and ground allspice.
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour for the recipe making for the first time or experiment with other types of flour. To make gluten-free gingerbread, replace the flour indicated in a recipe with rice flour or chestnut flour. When using chestnut flour, remember to decrease the quantity of honey and sugar, as this flour adds sweetness.
- Corn starch or potato starch are used interchangeably.
- Dark rum brings irresistible flavor to the cake.
- Baking powder: Use fresh aluminum-free baking powder to make the recipe.
- Dried fruits: Use dried apricots, cranberries, Medjool dates, raisins, and prunes, or experiment with other dried fruits.
Pro tip: Download this free 10-page fruit flavor pairing chart to discover other interesting combinations.
- Almonds: The recipe calls for slivered almonds, but you can replace them with coarsely chopped whole almonds.
How to make Pain d'epices
Step 1. To make the syrup, pour water, honey, and sugar, add cinnamon sticks, whole star anise, and ground allspice in a small saucepan (photo 1).
Step 2. Bring to a boil while mixing. Remove the saucepan from the heat (photo 2), cover it with plastic film, and let the honey mixture infuse at room temperature for 24 hours.
PHOTO 1
PHOTO 2
Step 3. The next day, heat the oven to 320°F (160°C). To make the batter, mix flour, cornstarch, and baking powder in a large bowl.
Step 4. Drain the syrup with a colander and discard the spices. Add rum to the syrup and mix.
Step 5. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and combine them with a hand whisk (photo 3).
Step 6. Add whole prunes, dried apricots, cranberries, and slivered almonds to the mixture and mix (photo 4).
PHOTO 3
PHOTO 4
Step 7. Pour batter into a prepared pan (buttered nonstick loaf pan or a silicone loaf pan), filling up three-quarters (photo 5).
Pro tip: Read more about how to bake with silicone molds.
Step 8. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Check the loaf readiness with a toothpick: gingerbread is ready if it comes out dry from the center of the cake (photo 6).
PHOTO 5
PHOTO 6
Step 9. Remove the loaf from the bread pan and let it cool on a cooling rack.
Expert Tips
- 0.5 oz (15 g) of star anise is approximately equal to 18 whole star anise or 9 teaspoons of ground star anise.
- Replace slivered almonds with blanched almonds.
- Experiment with dried fruit and make your combinations.
- For a gourmet version, switch honey for date syrup or maple syrup.
- Adjust the baking time and test the loaf/loaves for readiness with a toothpick if you use small loaf pans.
- Make-ahead option: Make the syrup one day ahead and infuse it with warm spices and exquisite flavors. The next day, make the bread dough and bake.
- Store the cooled gingerbread loaf in a plastic bag or airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 to 3 days. You can refrigerate it for up to a couple of weeks.
How to serve pain d'epices
Let the pain d'epices ripen for at least a day to release the flavors. Then, slice and serve it for breakfast or a snack throughout the day.
Serve it with savory dishes, for example, gingerbread croutons for pumpkin soup. Or place foie gras on a gingerbread French toast with fig jam or a drizzle of honey.
French people love enjoying gingerbread with a cup of hot tea and Alsatian lagers, such as Fischer.
Recipe variations
Like any classic recipe, there are countless variations of the recipe. All ingredient changes will impart subtle yet still delicious nuances to the French spiced bread.
- Add citrus zest (lemon or orange zest) or candied orange peels just like renowned chef Jacquy Pfeiffer does.
- Choose not to use whole star anise but cardamom pods.
Most of the pain d'epices are light in color. But with the addition of blackstrap molasses and dark brown sugar, the gingerbread bread gets its distinctive flavor and dark color.
To decorate, dust the loaf with icing sugar, chocolate sprinkles, or a fir branch, or drizzle it with lemon glaze.
Storing and freezing
Store the pain d'epices in a plastic bag or airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 to 3 days. Or refrigerate it for up to a couple of weeks.
Can you freeze French gingerbread? You can freeze your honey spice cake covered with plastic wrap or in a freezer bag for a long time, up to 2 months. To thaw, leave the loaf in the fridge overnight.
Recipe FAQ
Gingerbread, or pain d'épices, is a loaf made with honey and spice. It doesn't contain ginger, and the texture of the bread is somewhat dry. Ginge cake or gingerbread cake is an American invention made with treacle or molasses and spices, including ginger, and its texture is moist.
Gingerbread spice is a mix of different spices used during holiday baking. It contains ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg, although some recipes also call for nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom.
The traditional gingerbread recipe uses whole wheat flour. However, white flour, buckwheat flour, or dark rye flour are also widely used. To make gingerbread more compact, you should choose ray flour. Since gingerbread is sweet, it is not really recommended to use chestnut flour.
Different combinations of dried and candied fruit are beautifully incorporated into gingerbread recipes. Use raisins, prunes, dried apricots, cranberry or cherry, candied oranges, or candied lemons.
Love loaf cakes? Try these next!
- Banana bread with streusel topping
- Raspberry loaf cake
- Pineapple carrot bread
- Pear pound cake
- Or browse all the cake recipes
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PrintPain d'epices (French Gingerbread Loaf)
Pain d'epices is a French gingerbread loaf, a no-knead spiced bread full of holiday spices and festive flavors. It is a French classic, perfect for Christmas, and makes a great edible gift.
- Total Time: 2 hours (plus resting time)
- Yield: 10 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
For the syrup:
- 1 cup + 3 tablespoons (280 ml) water
- ½ cup + 1 tablespoon (190 g) honey
- ⅓ cup + 2 ½ tablespoons (110 g) granulated sugar
- 0.5 oz (15 g) whole star anise (see note #1)
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
For the loaf:
- 2 ⅔ cup + 2 ½ teaspoons (340 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (37 g) cornstarch
- 2 ½ tablespoons (40 ml) dark rum
- 4 teaspoons (20 g) baking powder
- 2.6 oz (75 g) dried apricots
- 2.6 oz (75 g) prunes
- 2.6 oz (75 g) slivered almonds
- 1.5 oz (45 g) dried cranberries
*Don't you have the correct baking pan on hand right now? Try this simple Cake Pan Converter!
** If needed, please refer to Baking Conversion Charts.
Instructions
- To make the syrup, pour water, honey, and sugar, add cinnamon sticks, star anise, and ground allspice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil while mixing. Remove the saucepan from the heat, cover it with a plastic film, and let it infuse at room temperature for 24 hours.
- The next day, preheat the oven to 320°F (160°C). To make the dough, mix flour, cornstarch, and baking powder in a bowl.
- Drain the syrup with a colander and discard the spices. Add rum to the syrup and mix. Stir dry ingredients into the wet mixture and combine it with a hand whisk.
- Add whole prunes, dried apricots, cranberries, and slivered almonds to the mix and combine. Pour the preparation into a buttered nonstick loaf pan or a silicone loaf pan, filling up three-quarters.
- Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Check the loaf readiness with a toothpick: gingerbread is ready if it comes out dry. Remove the loaf from the bread pan and let it cool on a cooling rack.
Notes
- 0.5 oz. (15 g) of star anise is approximately equal to 18 whole star anise or 9 teaspoons of ground star anise.
- Replace slivered almonds with blanched almonds.
- Experiment with dried fruit and make your combinations.
- For a gourmet version, switch honey for date syrup or maple syrup.
- Adjust the baking time and test the loaf/loaves for readiness with a toothpick if you use small loaf pans.
- Make-ahead option: Make the syrup one day ahead and infuse it with warm spices and exquisite flavors. The next day, make the bread dough and bake.
- Store the cooled gingerbread loaf in a plastic bag or airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 to 3 days. You can refrigerate it for up to a couple of weeks.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 387
- Sugar: 37.4 g
- Sodium: 5 mg
- Fat: 5.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 79.3 g
- Fiber: 3.2 g
- Protein: 6.7 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.
The recipe was adapted from the Video Masterclass of Eric Kayser's bakery. It was originally published on December 11, 2019. The recipe has been revised to include improved content.
For reference, if you have made this recipe previously and want to replicate it, the original recipe called for 3.5 oz (100 g) speculoos cookies,1.7 oz (50 g) apricot jam, and dried fruit (prunes, apricots, raisins, and Medjool dates) for decoration.
To decorate the loaf, place speculoos cookies in a food processor and crush them to get crumbs. Heat the apricot jam in a microwave and spread it over gingerbread using a silicone brush.
Then, generously sprinkle the loaf's sides with crumbled speculoos cookies. Dip each dried fruit in a heated apricot jam, shake off the excess jam, and arrange prunes, dried apricots, Medjool dates, and raisins on top, overlapping each other. Fill the gaps between the fruit with crumbled cookies.
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