Toasted Pain DÉpice With Kumquat Marmalade Butter Recipes

PAIN D'EPICE (FRENCH SPICE BREAD)

Steps:

• Warm and melt the honey by standing the jar in a pan of hot water, measure it into the rye flour in a bowl and mix together with a wooden spoon. Leave, covered for 1 hour for the flour to absorb all the liquid.
• Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the glaze, and mix with vigour to ensure everything is spread evenly through the dough - this will be very sticky! Knead the dough on a clean work surface for between 5-10 minutes You can dip hands into a bowl of water at intervals to help with the kneading if necessary.
• Press the dough mixture intpo a well greased 2lb loaf tin. Make sure it's pushed right into the corners.
• Bake the loaf on the middle shelf for about 35 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. When you have removed it from the oven, brush with glaze and return to oven for a couple of minutes to set the glaze.
• Let the bread stand in the tin for a few minutes, then invert onto a wire rack. This keeps very well and because it's made using rye it can be better for being left a couple of days before eating. (We never let it wait long though !).

TOASTED PAIN D'ÉPICE WITH KUMQUAT MARMALADE BUTTER

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Lightly butter a loaf pan.
• In a large saucepan, bring the honey, brown sugar, and 3/4 cup water to a boil, stirring frequently. As soon as it comes to a boil, take the mixture off the heat. Sift in 1 cup of the flour, whisking continuously. Set aside.
• Sift together the remaining cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
• Whisk together the eggs, egg yolk, ginger, and ginger juice. Whisk the honey mixture into the eggs. Slowly fold the remaining dry ingredients into the batter in three parts (if you add too much or too quickly, your batter will be lumpy).
• Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, and bake 35 to 40 minutes, until the loaf is firm to the touch. Let cool completely before slicing.
• Heat one or two cast-iron pans over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. (You can toast the pain d'épice in two pans or in batches.)
• Cut six 1/2-inch-thick slices of pain d'épice, and butter them on both sides. Place the slices in the pan, and toast a few minutes on each side, until golden brown and crisp. Slather each slice with kumquat marmalade butter, and fan them out on a platter, overlapping them slightly. Top with the reserved candied kumquats.
• In a medium saucepan, bring the granulated sugar and 2 cups water to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to make sure the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the kumquats, and cover the fruit with a piece of parchment or a small plate to keep them submerged. Turn the heat to low, and cook about 25 minutes, until the kumquats are translucent. Drain the fruit, reserving the sugar syrup. When the kumquats have cooled, cut them in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Cut halves lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices.
• Cream the butter and confectioners' sugar at medium-low speed in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until it's light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add all but 3 tablespoons of the candied kumquats. Add a tablespoon or two of the reserved syrup and a pinch of salt. Mix to combine, taste, and add more syrup if you like.