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There are various different recipes for parkin, it is difficult to say which is the most traditional and people have very strong opinions about how it should be made!
Treacle and golden syrup: Some recipes for parkin use all treacle, but I think that it is nicest made with a blend of treacle and golden syrup, all treacle is a bit too intensely flavoured for me. Once the parkin has cooled it can be eaten right away, or stored in a tin for up to a couple of weeks. Parkin and tharf cake were used interchangeably in Lancashire and South Yorkshire until 1900. Over the 500 years the recipe and taste of these cakes have changed considerably. It was the food of the poor. [ citation needed] Ovens were rare in the houses of the poor, and they generally had no access to public bakers before the 1820s, so the cakes were cooked on griddles or bakestones on an open fire. [11] The best parkin was made with fresh oatmeal, which fixes the date around the first week in November. You can skew the balance more towards either one of them if you prefer, as long as the total amount that you use remains the same (280g total syrup).Note that parkin is one of those cakes, like malt loaf, that carries on getting better for some weeks after making, so if you enjoy these, bookmark this article to make again in mid October 2018.) Combine the flour, oatmeal, spices, sugar, salt and bicarb in a large mixing bowl, then pour in the treacle mixture, stirring to combine. Beat the egg with the milk and then beat into the batter until it’s just loose enough to pour into the tin. The main difference between parkin and regular ginger cake is that parkin contains oats, usually medium oatmeal. This gives it a denser, chewier texture than ginger cake. Use a pestle and mortar (or a spice grinder) and grind up the oatmeal into smaller, finer pieces – you can soak this overnight in a little milk if you want softer biscuits. Then in a large mixing bowl sift in the plain flour and rub the softened butter into it until it becomes like fine breadcrumbs.
The Yorkshire Air Ambulance is an independent charity providing a life saving rapid response emergency service to 5 million people across the whole of Yorkshire. The service is operational seven days a week, 365 days a year. The Charity currently attend over 1,500 incidents a year, an average of 5 incidents every single day.Heat the oven to 140C. Weigh the treacle, syrup and butter in a medium pan and place over a medium heat until melted together, being careful not to let it boil. Take off the heat. Generously grease a 22cm square baking tin. Although the frugal and savvy cooks during the 1940s war years of food rationing and shortages, and the 1930s Great Depression eras, already worked this one out! Jump to: Ground ginger and mixed spice: You want to go fairly heavy on the ground ginger for parkin, it should be spicy! I also add a bit of mixed spice for extra flavour.
In the North of England, oats was a cheaper grain to grow compared to wheat, and so when the oats were harvested at the beginning of November the Tharf cake or biscuit was baked. Other names for the tharf cake was Thor cake or Tharve cake and the name is said to translate from Old English to mean unleavened or plain as the cake resembles a flat biscuit. Place all the dry ingredients consisting of Oatmeal, Flour, Baking Powder and Ginger into a large mixing bowl that is heatproof and gently mix everything together. Then pour the cooled sugar treacle mixture over the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
TIPS AND FAQ’S
I really recommend weighing out your golden syrup and treacle as being too heavy handed with them can cause the parkin to sink, and they are very difficult to measure accurately in cups. Traditionally Yorkshire parkin is also made with lard instead of butter. Lard adds a layer of richness and also creates a moister cake. We’re using some of each to get the best of both worlds but you can use all butter if you prefer. The flour used in parkin in England is self-raising, containing a small amount of chemical leavening agent. If this is not available, or if the proportion of oatmeal is high, it is essential to add a leavening agent, e.g. baking powder or a mixture of sodium bicarbonate and cream of tartar.
Place the medium oatmeal (see blog post and recipe box for a description of what that is and how to make it) in a large bowl along with the flour, spices, salt and baking powder. Parkin is a traditional ginger cake which originates from Yorkshire and Lancashire. It is baked throughout the winter months but it is traditional to eat it on bonfire night/Guy Fawkes night (the 5th November).Pour the batter into a greased and lined 23cm/9in square cake tin and spread it level. Bake for about 30 minutes until firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
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