High-Protein Honey Spice Loaf

📝 Ingredients

• 170 g wholemeal flour
• 40 g vanilla whey protein
• 100 g honey
• 60 ml semi-skimmed milk
• 500 g fromage frais (200 g for the batter, 300 g for serving)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon + 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 sachet baking powder (11 g)
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 oranges (zest of one for the batter, segments for serving)

🍴 Utensils

• Loaf tin
• Mixing bowl
• Bowl
• Whisk
• Spatula
• Fine grater

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 160 °C. Line a loaf tin of about 25 cm with baking paper, leaving it overhanging on the long sides so you can lift out the loaf without breaking it.
2. Warm the milk and honey for 30 seconds in the microwave, or over a low heat in a small saucepan, and stir until the honey is completely runny. The mixture should be lukewarm, not hot, so it doesn't cook the eggs later.
3. Zest one orange with the fine grater, avoiding the bitter white pith. In the mixing bowl, combine the flour, whey, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt and zest until there are no lumps of whey left.
4. In the bowl, whisk the eggs with 200 g fromage frais until smooth, then whisk in the warm milk-honey mixture until everything is well combined.
5. Pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula just until there are no streaks of flour left: overworked, the batter would give a dense loaf. It should be thick but flow slowly.
6. Pour into the tin, smooth the top and bake for 45 minutes. It's done when it's a deep brown and a knife inserted in the centre comes out dry. Honey browns quickly: if it darkens too much, cover with foil after 30 minutes of baking.
7. Leave to rest for 10 minutes in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack. Once cold, wrap in cling film: made the day before, it's even softer and more fragrant the next day.
8. At breakfast, cut the loaf into 8 slices (2 per person). Peel the oranges, removing all the pith, and cut into segments. Serve with 75 g fromage frais per person and half an orange.