It took the Belgian Café Culture book for me to actually fall in love with my own culture again and realize that what was just under my nose was actually something really beautiful that I had neglected. And that opened the door for all the research that I’ve done in the past (seven) years.” Separate the eggs into two mixing bowls. Whisk the yolks with the molasses or soft dark brown sugar until it doubles in volume, then fold in the rye bread mix. My molasses and ginger loving self will probably make this aggressively flavored cake again, but fair warning: it's got it's issues.

Pain d’Épices: French Gingerbread Cake | the Sunday Baker Pain d’Épices: French Gingerbread Cake | the Sunday Baker

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. Sift or whisk together the dry ingredients thoroughly to distribute the spices evenly. It would be unpleasant to bite into a clump of one of the strong spices. Hahnemann tells me that this cake was first served in Southern Jutland after the war in 1864, as part of a sønderjysk kaffebord, or a traditional cake table. Danish people were not allowed to join political meetings in liquor taverns, instead meeting in special assembly houses. Women would bring cake for people to enjoy but also to show their political will and presence at these important meetings (before women were allowed to vote). 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. In Dark Rye and Honey Cake, food writer and photographer Regula Ysewijn explores the history of festival baking from her Belgian homeland. Photo by Weldon Owen

More richness

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. RECIPES: Discover dozens of Belgian bakes including, pastries, pies, biscuits, cakes, breads and, of course, waffles Dust the sultanas and the walnuts or almonds with flour, to prevent them from dropping to the bottom of the cake, and stir them into the batter.

Dark Rye and Honey Cake: Baking recipes from Belgium

Pain d’épices is a spice-laden honey cake from France. While the literal translation is spice bread, it can be roughly translated as gingerbread cake.Break cake into large pieces and arrange on a platter. Swirl honey into yogurt in a small bowl and serve alongside cake. Step 5 Regula uses history and art to guide the reader through a fascinating period, and paints – through her stunning photography and recipes – the landscape of the region’s rich baking culture. Dark Rye and Honey Cakeexplores a whole year of rustic bakes, unearthing long-forgotten recipes and reviving treasured favourites. There are waffles and winter breads for the 12 days of Christmas, pancakes for Candlemas and Carnival, pretzels for Lent, vlaai and fried dough for Kermis and all the special sweet treats that make up Saint Nicholas and Saint Martin. The cake was made popular due to Charles VII and his mistress Agnès Sorel’s fondness for it, and it spread through the French court during the 15th century. By the 16th century, a guild of spice bread makers was formed in Reims, followed by Paris. 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:

Dark Rye and Honey Cake by Regula Ysewijn | Waterstones

Regula verbeeldt met haar verhalende fotografie en recepten het landschap van de rijke bakcultuur van de Lage Landen. Van het donkere roggebrood en de honingkoek die de ruggengraat vormden van een dagelijks feest op het bord tot lang vergeten recepten. Er zijn wafels en winterbroden voor de twaalf dagen van Kerstmis, pannenkoeken voor Lichtmis en Carnaval, krakelingen voor de vastentijd, vlaai en gefrituurde bollen voor Kerstmis en alle kruidige lekkernijen die ons meteen aan Sinterklaas en Sint-Maarten doen denken. Dark Rye and Honey Cake: Festival baking from the heart of the Low Countries by Regula Ysewijn – eBook Details Antwerp was one of the world’s richest cities in the 16th century. Art was a way of showing the glassware and pottery that was made and traded there, and the variety of foods that moved through the port — including sugar, which was refined and sold. “They could basically boast about what was here. So, that was really interesting to see — that in the paintings, there was a sense of pride about what was buzzing here in this place, in this part of the Low Countries. And that those paintings are basically a PR campaign for the region’s foodie delights.” 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. This makes a very distinctive cake, but I'd say it's not for the average person. I really love molasses, but it was a bit bitter even for me. The yogurt and honey didn't help it at all, as both of those have bitter elements themselves and the combo brought out the worst in all of them. I think it would work very well with vanilla ice cream or good whipped cream, though. That should soften this cake's flavor a lot.For the English and US/English edition follow this link and choose your favourite shop or goo to your local bookstore Line a 24cm pan with greaseproof paper or with foil, brushed with oil and dusted with flour, and pour in the batter. Or divide between two 24cm x 13cm loaf tins. As it’s a major component of the cake, the quality of the honey is very important. Use a high-quality, single-varietal honey. Sift rye flour, all-purpose flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepper through a coarse-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Stir in baking powder and salt. Whisk eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, fresh ginger, and vanilla extract in a large bowl to combine. Whisk in coconut oil, vegetable oil, and cooled molasses mixture. Add dry ingredients and fold just until blended. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Step 3

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

Trine Hahnemann is a Danish baker and food writer after my own heart. Not only does she make the most incredible cakes (this one included), but she always cooks with thrift in mind. 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 TipsAlso, it didn't cook as evenly as I'd like, leaving the outside near burnt (also not helping the bitter taste) while the interior was barely done. I think a water bath would help a lot with that, though or those insulated cake rings.