8 Sept 2012

French Honey-cake from Gilardi Yvan- absolutely dream! Pain d’épices


The way this cake smells is incredible! If you you want to add some cosy magic to your home place - you should definitely try to cook it! The recipe of this this wonderful cake i saw by already long ago and thought I wait till X-mas to try it... but it's getting colder and colder every day, and i couldn't wait anymore $)

The original version is here. Sorry, it's in russian again, but you can see great step-by-step pictures there at least.

To make it is really-really easy! You need to things: 1) to prepare a special mix of spices and 2) to make a dough. Then mix them and bake it )) done!

So, we start with the spice-Mix. I changed a little bit the original version...just for you to know.

- 12 clove bud
- 10 star anise
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried ginger
- 3 tsp cinnamon

All this you mix in a blender for spices. Thank you sift it really good! For one cake we don't need all of the powder, which we got. The rest we just keep and use when we next time back for X-mas guests ;)

Now we make the dough.

- 250 Flour
- 350 Honey
- 100 Milk
- 2 Eggs
- 40 Brawn Sugar
- Orange Zest
- 15 g Backing Powder
- Salt 
- a little bit of butter and flour for a backing form.

First of all we warm up the honey. Then add the sugar and melt it in the honey. Let it get a bit cooler.
Meanwhile mix together the flour, orange zest, salt, backing powder and two full teaspoons of spice-mix we prepared. Separately mix really good milk with eggs. Slowly add milk-egg mix into the flour. Then slowly add honey-sugar and mix everything thoroughly together. Pour the dough into the form (butter and flour will help you to get the cake afterwords easier). 

180 C and about 40-50 minutes, till it get a very nice brown colour. Done! 
Open the oven and jump into the great mood! =) BWT you may keep it in a plastic bag for about a month in a fridge.

I thing it's also a wonderful idea for a X-mas present. 

It France they it this kind of a cake the whole year, not only for a X-mas. For a example you can often get at served with foie-gras. This pic below was made with iphone but in Paris ;) Pretty simple but delicious combination!










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