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Parkin

A Good Housekeeping recipe
A moist ginger cake usually served cut in squares.
Originating from Yorkshire, where oatmeal is always used in its preparation.

225g / 8oz plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
4 tsp ground ginger
225g / 8oz medium oatmeal
100g / 4 oz demerara sugar
175g / 6 oz golden syrup
175g / 6 oz black treacle (blackstrap molasses)
1 egg, beaten
4 tbsp milk

Butter / line a 23cm / 9in square baking tin. Heat the oven to 180C/ 350F/Gas Mark 4.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and ginger. Rub in the fat, and add the oatmeal and sugar.

Warm the syrup and treacle, do not overheat.Make a well in the dry ingredients and gradually stir in the liquid from the saucepan and the beaten egg and milk.

Pour into the tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until just firm to the touch. Leave to cool a little in the tin, then turn out to finish cooling. Serve cut into squares or fingers.

Not Quite Parkin

I can't remember where I sourced this recipe, but when I came to try it, the syrup measures seemed far too much - so I adapted it and made something thats not quite Parkin, but quite tasty. Makes 16 squares.

340g medium oatmeal
185g plain flour
2 tbsp soft brown sugar
3 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
½ tsp salt
65g stem ginger, roughly chopped
250g golden syrup (I used 130g, maybe try a little more next time)
250g black treacle (I used 120g, maybe try a little more next time)
125g unsalted butter
70ml milk
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 handful flaked almonds (optional)

Heat the oven to 170C/ 325F/gas mark 3. Butter a 22cm baking tin and dust with flour. Line with baking parchment and grease that, too.

Whisk the first six ingredients in a bowl, and stir in the stem ginger. Warm the syrup, treacle and butter until the butter has just melted. In another pan, warm the milk to blood temperature, add bicarb, and mix into the dry ingredients with the treacle.

Pour into the tin and bake for 40 minutes, until just firm to the touch (scatter on the almonds after 15 minutes).

Leave to cool a little, then cut into squares.

Lancashire Parkin

Hairy Bikers, Mums Know Best - Jan

100g margarine
1tbs marmalade
200g treacle
75g soft brown sugar
¼pint milk
1egg
pinch bicarbonate of soda
75g wholemeal flour
75g self raising flour
50g medium oatmeal
1tsp ground ginger
1tsp mixed spice

1. Place margarine, marmalade, treacle and sugar in a pan and stir slowly over a low heat until the
sugar is dissolved.
2. Add the milk and leave to cool.
3. Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and pour on the melted mixture.
4. Add the beaten egg and mix well.
5. Pour into a greased and lined 8” square cake tin and bake at 180C for 50-60mins.
6. Leave in the tin to cool.
7. The cake will be better if left for 24hours before cutting.