Parkin

There’s a chill in the air, anything & everything woollen have been dug out of the deepest realms of the wardrobe & the countdown to that festive season truly begins (every inch of me is glowing with excitement). Week upon week my garden is slowly beginning to resemble a winter wonderland as the frost makes its return (why don’t cars just de-ice themselves these days?! ). I’ll admit that I gave into the chill & fully embraced all things spiced a long time ago as cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg & I are all reunited & become the best of friends over the coming months. Gingerbread, buns, porridge, fruit cakes, biscuits, casseroles & crumbles.. hello comfort food!

One of my all time favourite uses of my three best friends is in a big, gloopy, steaming bowl of porridge, spiced to the max & drizzled in honey (fruit is optional if you’re pretending to be healthier).  It’s not just for breakfast either, porridge makes for the most fantastic comforting tea on a cold winters night, just like beans on toast it’s the meal that transcends meal conformity. But have you ever tried baking with oats? As a baker (& avid eater), naturally I like to experiment & attempt to translate some of my favourite flavours & comforts into my baking.

parkin

Luckily for me, our Northern friends have a cake that does all of the hard work & epitomised spicy comfort into one, dense, sticky, spicy cake… parkin. Unlike most cakes (with the exception of fruit), Parkin is best left to its own devices before it’s ready to eat, allowing it time fo mature where the flavour & texture will only improve as it moistens & becomes sticky. With a little kick of ginger to combat the chill in the air, parkin is traditionally eaten on Guy Fawkes night (5th November). The tradition is believed to have stemmed from Celtic festivals such as Samain (or modern day Halloween) which were celebrated with a fire & ritual cakes. Although most of us probably don’t need another excuse to make or eat cake, its good to know just how many holidays, celebrations & days there was that allow us to justify it. This November 5th, why not try you hand a parkin, its a simple, one pan recipe (yey for less washing up!) & it’ll help ease you back into spiced everything come winter.


PARKIN

(makes one 22cm square – around 16 pieces)

Ingredients:

  • 200g golden syrup
  • 50g black treacle
  • 125g butter
  • 100g dark soft brown sugar
  • 200g oatmeal
  • 130g self-raising flour
  • 2 tsp ginger
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 2 eggs
  • 50ml milk

Method:

  • Begun by greasing & lining a 20cm square cake tin with baking parchment
  • In a large saucepan, melt together the golden syrup, treacle, butter & sugar until all of the sugar has dissolved, then set aside to cool a little
  • Add the eggs & milk to the pan & whisk together
  • Finally sift the flour, oatmeal & spices into the saucepan & mix until well combined & smooth
  • Pour the mixture into the prepared tin & bake at 140°C for 1 hour
  • Allow the cake to cool fully in its tin before removing & cutting into squares (I’d recommend leaving it uncut in a cake tin for a few days to mature before slicing)
spoon

3 Comments

Leave a Reply