Dark Rye and Honey Cake: Festival baking from the heart of the Low Countries

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While excellent alongside a hot mug of coffee or tea for breakfast or dessert, pain d’épices has some surprisingly savory accompaniments as well. The French often pair pain d’épices with cheeses such as Roquefort, or even foie gras. The History of Pain d’Épices

Dark Rye and Honey Cake - Booktopia Dark Rye and Honey Cake - Booktopia

Toast the hazelnuts in a pan over a medium heat for five minutes or until golden brown. Once cool, pulse-blend in a food processor with the rye bread, baking powder and cocoa powder, into a fine crumb. A rare glimpse into the rich and fascinating food culture of one of our closest neighbours – a work of scholarship, but also a work of art.” FELICITY CLOAKE, Guardian and author of One More Croissant for the Road and Red Sauce Brown Sauce

Layers of sweetness

Join the conversation Antwerp-based food writer, photographer and author Regula Ysewijn. (Right, Luikse wafels, a.k.a. Liège waffles.) PHOTOS BY REGULA YSEWIJN Article content

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The loaf keeps well and actually improves over time. Honey is a humectant, meaning that it attracts and retains moisture. Keep it wrapped tightly in plastic, and for the best flavor and texture, let it ripen for at least a day. Pain d’épices should keep for up to a week if stored wrapped in plastic. If you don’t have dark rye flour on hand, you can substitute it for an equal amount of whole wheat or all-purpose flour. In fact, recipes for pain d’épices from Dijon tend to use whole wheat flour whereas the recipes from Reims usually call for rye flour. Spiced honey bread spread through monasteries across Europe and became part of the Christmas festivities. Pain d’épices became especially important in Reims, Alsace, as well as Dijon. With this collection of timeless recipes, Regula reveals the origins of her country’s ancient food culture and brings a little Belgian baking into every home. Recent podcast interviews: The honey will cause the loaf to brown deeply. If it starts to catch and gets too dark for your liking, you can loosely cover it with foil to prevent it from browning further.

Table of Contents

In Dark Rye and Honey Cake , acclaimed food writer and historian Regula Ysewijn turns her focus to the bakes and culinary history of her Belgian homeland. The bread is traditionally sweetened only with honey, though some variations today include brown sugar. Because of this, it has been an important product for honey merchants for centuries. Pain d’Épices Baking Tips

Yoghurt, almond and honey cake by Jeremy Lee | Cake | The Yoghurt, almond and honey cake by Jeremy Lee | Cake | The

The chapters deal with a host of baked goods: along with many recipes for waffles, including stroopwafels and a savoury sweet potato variety, there are breads including worstenbrood, a roll stuffed with sausage, pancakes, pretzels, spiced biscuits, gingerbread, apple beignets and boules de Berlin, plump doughnuts filled with custard. Ysewijn also delves into the artistic aspect of cooking from the Low Countries, exploring the tradition of using moulds (or koekplank) to create shapes out of dough, Dark Rye and Honey Cake brings a slice of the Low Countries to bakers looking to explore this fascinating history through timeless recipes which will add colour and personality to the offerings of restaurants and bakeries alike. Mix the baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and orange zest with the flour. Add gradually to the egg and honey mixture, beating vigorously to a smooth batter.

Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan and bake at 175°C (350°F) for 50 minutes to one hour, or until dark brown and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Beat the yoghurt in a large bowl and beat in one egg at a time. Pour in the olive oil and honey and beat well. Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl, add the ground almonds and caster sugar and the other half of the lemon juice, all of the zest and a pinch of salt, mixing deftly and swiftly.