Bonfire Night just isn't Bonfire Night without a sticky, dense, gingery slab of parkin – especially if you hail from the North of England where it's been part of 5th November celebrations for centuries.
If you've never had it before, think of a deeply dark gingerbread, studded with chewy bites of oat, and a rounded, rich, indulgent treacly flavour.
Sounds good right? Prefer something lighter? Seek out a recipe for Lancashire parkin which tends to be less treacle and oat heavy, with a cakey texture.
You need to be patient with this cake. After baking, wrap it in foil and put it out of sight for a few days. It'll soften and go ever-so-slightly squidgy. Yum. Serve smothered in butter.
Ingredients
- 150g treacle
- 100g syrup or honey
- 100g dark brown sugar
- 200g salted butter
- 115g chunky oatmeal (not easy cook porridge oats)
- 180g self-raising flour
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2.5 tsp ground ginger
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- Splash milk
Method
1. Line an 8ins square tin and set the oven to 170C. Combine the first four ingredients in a pan and melt on a low heat until the sugar and butter have dissolved. Set aside off the heat to cool a little.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, flour, cocoa, bicarbonate and ginger. Make a well in the centre, pour in the liquid ingredients and stir together briefly until well mixed, then beat in the eggs and a splash of milk. At this stage, if you like, you can put the batter in a tub in the fridge and let it mature for a couple of days before cooking which gives a richer taste.
3. Otherwise, pour into your prepared tin and bake for 35 minutes. A skewer should come out clean. If it's not quite ready, give it a further five minutes or so. Allow to cool completely, then double wrap in foil and leave to sit for a couple of days before eating. It's wonderful warmed up and served with custard!
