The Ritual Master Hello friends, I’m glad my latest video from the Medieval Advent Calendar has brought you here, in search for my recipe of pain d’épices, the original gingerbread from the Middle Ages. My version is a tribute to King Arthur and his roots from Brittany, where buckwheat is the grain of choice. Let’s make this breton spicy delight.
INGREDIENTS :
- 150gr buckwheat flour
- 10gr baking powder
- 3 small eggs (or 2 large ones)
- 30gr brown sugar
- 150gr date molasses (or regular molasses, or honey if you don’t mind heating it)
- 75gr milk (careful this is weight not volume – I used oat milk)
- zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon
- 1 inch size piece of fresh ginger, grated
- Spices (powders) : 2tsp cinnamon, 1tsp nutmeg, 1/2tsp cloves,1tsp ginger
Mix your molasses/honey, sugar, milk and grated zests, then heat until the sugar has dissolved.
In a large mixing bowl combine your flour, baking powder and powdered spices, then add your beaten eggs and melted molasses mix. Stir just enough to make sure everything is well mixed, then pour into a cake tin lined with greaseproof paper (I forgot to butter mine, but it peeled off perfectly).
Then set this aside for 1 hour and go about your reading.
In a heated oven at 160°C / 350°F, bake this for one hour and make sure a toothpick comes out clean when you stick it in the thickest part of the cake.
Let it cool completely before taking it out of the tin and enjoy a slice with your cup of tea, or toasted with some fig chutney and foie gras for your Christmas feast. This is a gluten free, dairy free, fat free recipe, that keeps for a good ten days in some cling foil, tastes like Christmas and can be enjoyed at any time.
Bon appétit !
