Pain d’épices (French Gingerbread)
Traditional French gingerbread, known as pain d’épices, is a true classic of French pastry and one of my personal favorites for the holiday season. It’s made simply with honey, flour, and warm spices. In this recipe, I’ll show you how to make a pain d’épices that is especially moist and full of flavor, just like the ones you’ll find in France.
Table of contents
I’ve been wanting to share this recipe with you for a long time, because for me it’s one of the most iconic French specialties and a true classic during the end-of-year holiday season.
The Origin of Pain d’épices
Pain d’épices is one of the oldest recipes in French pastry. As early as Ancient times, people were already making honey-based breads, they called it melitounta. Later on, when the Crusaders started to travel through new regions, they discovered spices from the East, they incorporated them into these honey breads and brought the recipes back to Europe. You can also even find a similar honey bread in China, called Mi Kong.
In France, pain d’épices became especially popular in the 16th century, particularly in cities like Reims and Dijon, in which it’s still famous for it today. There were even official guilds of master pain d’épices bakers who strictly regulated how it was made, as the royal court loved this cake. Since part of my family comes from the Reims region, I’ve always had a special attachment to pain d’épices.
Essential Ingredients for Pain d’épices
The original recipe from Reims is traditionally made with just water, honey, flour, spices and baking soda. In my version, I add milk, butter and a little baking powder to make the gingerbread softer and moist without losing its typical taste.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
- Milk and butter – the only wet ingredients in the recipe. Traditionally, Pain d’Épices was prepared using only water, but milk and butter make the cake softer and juicier.
- Honey – Honey is the aromatic base of the cake. It is best to use a strong, darker honey such as forest or chestnut honey.
- Flour – I use regular all-purpose flour. Traditionally, part of it can be replaced with rye flour, which gives the cake a more rustic, slightly earthy flavor. If you use rye flour, you may need to slightly adjust the amount of liquid.
- Baking soda and baking powder – Using both helps create a lighter texture and prevents the pain d’épices from being too dense.
- Spice mix – In France, this is often found as a ready-made mix. It consists of cinnamon, ginger, aniseed, nutmeg and cloves. I recommend to make your own spice blend for Pain d’épices.
- Orange – A little grated orange peel adds freshness, alternatively you can also use lemon peel.
- Sugar – In addition to honey, a small amount of sugar is added to the batter. Brown sugar is best, as it brings a deeper, caramel-like flavor.
You can find the exact quantities in the recipe card!
Recipe card
Pain d’épices (French Gingerbread)
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Equipment
- 1 loaf pan 8–9 inches long
Ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour 300 g, or 1⅔ cups all-purpose + ¾ cup rye flour for a deeper flavor
- ½ cup honey 150 g, wildflower or chestnut
- ½ cup cup brown sugar (packed) 100 g
- ⅔ ml milk 150 ml
- ¼ cup butter 60 g
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp spice blend for Pain d'Épices cinnamon, ginger, anise seed, cloves, nutmeg
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 orange for the zest
For the glaze
- 2 tbsp honey 30 ml
- 1 tbsp cold water 15 ml
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 320 °F (160 °C, conventional). Butter and line a loaf pan.
- In a small saucepan, gently heat the milk, honey, and butter until melted. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, salt, the spices, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Gradually pour the wet ingredients (butter, milk, honey) into the dry ingredients in 2–3 additions, mixing gently with a spatula until you get a smooth, homogeneous batter.
- Stir in the orange zest and a pinch of salt.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for 55–65 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cool for 3 minutes before removing from the pan. Optional: Heat the honey and water for the glaze in a small saucepan, then brush over the warm gingerbread. Allow to cool completely before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
5 Tips for a Pain d’Épices
To make this French gingerbread wonderfully moist and full of aroma, there are just few simple but important details during preparation.
- Don’t let the milk boil – When heating the milk with the butter and honey, the mixture should be just warm—not boiling. If it gets too hot, the pain d’épices can turn out drier after baking.
- Be generous with the spices – Pain d’épices really shines because of its spices. I like to season it a bit more generously so the cake develops its signature warm, spiced aroma.
- Mix the batter briefly – Stir the batter only until all the ingredients are just combined. Overmixing can make the gingerbread dense or dry once baked.
- Don’t skip the glaze – This is a classic step for pain d’épices. Heat a little honey with a splash of water and brush it over the cake about 10 minutes after it comes out of the oven. It also allows you to add decorations (like star anise or cinnamon sticks) so they stick nicely on top.
- Wrap the cake – To keep the gingerbread soft, let it cool completely, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Pain d’épices actually tastes even better the next day, once the flavors have had time to develop.
How to Enjoy French Gingerbread
Pain d’Épices is very versatile and can be enjoyed not only sweet as a cake, but also savory. In France, it is not a typical cake that is served as a dessert but is rather eaten in the following ways:
- Afternoon snack (goûter) – As kids, we were often given a slice of pain d’épices as an after-school snack in France. It’s a true classic of French childhood.
- For breakfast – It’s delicious for breakfast, served with butter, jam, or orange marmalade.
- As a canapé – In France, pain d’épices is traditionally paired with foie gras. If foie gras isn’t your thing or is hard to find, I also love using it as a base for canapés, for example topped with Comté cheese and fresh figs.
- For cooking – Thanks to its warm, spiced flavor, pain d’épices is also wonderful in savory cooking. It’s used in classic dishes like Carbonade Flamande (a slow-braised beef stew with beer), or as a flavorful component in stuffings and fillings, such as in my Christmas turkey roulade.
A little tip: Gingerbread bread is very aromatic, so it is usually cut into very thin slices.
FAQ- Pain d’Épices
Once the gingerbread has cooled completely, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. This will keep it soft and moist for about one week at room temperature. You can also freeze it (whole or sliced) to extend its shelf life even longer.
Yes! Pain d’épices can easily be made vegan by replacing the honey with maple syrup or agave syrup and the butter with a good-quality plant-based margarine. For a gluten-free version, simply use a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. The characteristic spiced flavor remains just as delicious.
Pain d’épices often turns out too dry if too much flour is used or if it’s baked for too long. For best results, weigh your ingredients accurately and bake the cake just until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean but still slightly moist.
A classic pain d’épices spice blend typically includes cinnamon, ginger, aniseed, nutmeg, and cloves. You can use a ready-made gingerbread or pain d’épices spice mix, or, like I do make your own at home. You’ll find my homemade Pain d’épices spice blend recipe here.
Looking forward to prepare it!
Let me know when you try it!
This was a lovely Pain d’epices. The flavor was just as it should be, is hard to find a good, traditional recipe and I think this is it! Thank you!
So happy you liked it, Cecilia! I wish you a Merry Christmas!