Originally a specialty of Reims in the Champagne region of France, pain d’épices (or spice bread) has now become firmly entrenched in French culinary life. As the story goes, the original pain d’épices traveled to France from as far as Vienna via the Mongols as a combat ration. In its simplest form pain d’épices is a dense cake made with rye flour, spices, and honey. As its popularity grew, so did the number of variations through the addition of different dried ingredients. The one modern varian Cake With Figs, Dense Cake, Spice Bread, Champagne Region, Rye Flour, Artisanal Design, Artisan Food, Spice Cake, Simplest Form