Mum passed on to me a scrap of treacle-stained paper with notes in the margin found in her 1975 hand-written cookbook for a wonderful old Parkin recipe in pound and ounces handed down from my grandma, and probably hers too.

These are more than just recipes, these are heritage recipes – our links with the past, dedicated to the preservation of family memories from a special person, my nan.

She would have been very proud of me sharing her recipe with you, slightly modified by missing out the lard and adding black treacle. Trust me on this one, nan!

Let’s get historical for a moment!

Parkin is traditional eaten on Bonfire Night, November 5, celebrating the famous failure of Guy Fawkes to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605.

Guy Fawkes was a Yorkshire man, born in York, and the traditional cake is associated with our region. This is a wonderful, moist, sticky cake, with the recipe easy to make.

One of the key features of Parkin is it retains its texture well, and can be kept for a week or two in a sealed tin or container, improving the consistency for the connoisseur among us, though you can eat the cake almost immediately if your will-power gives in! But it will get stickier and more delicious if you wrap and store it.

Early memories from the bonfire parties were it was cut up and shared amongst all party-goers (there you go our lad, get stuck in!), who munched on it as the fire slowly died down and the firework display ended. You got warmed up inside from the aromatic ginger in the cake, warmed up on the outside by the embers of the fire and a heart warming feeling from remembering bonfire night gone by. Happy memories and happy baking!

BAKER MIKE’S TOP TIPS FOR THAT PERFECT PARKIN l Always double-check your ingredients before assembling any recipes – mistakes will happen and ruin your hard work l The oats in the parkin will absorb a lot of the cake’s moisture when baking, so make sure the cake batter is wet enough when fully mixed – add a little more milk if it needs it l Try using a large, lined, square roasting tin to produce a much bigger, squarer and thinner cake to cut into slabs to be eaten l All ovens vary – your Parkin might taker longer to bake, but remember to pre-heat your oven first as the bicarbonate of soda will start to work, causing a chemical reaction l Try eating Parkin with cheese or as a warm, yummy pudding, with a good dollop of custard, of course l Remember, preserve and share your family’s treasured recipes!

 

RECIPE

Nan’s Parkin
Ingredients
100g black treacle
100g golden syrup
100g soft brown sugar
150g unsalted butter
175g plain flour
275g porridge oats
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon mixed spices
150ml full-fat milk
1 free-range egg
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/ gas mark four
2. Line a deep 20cm, eight inch square cake tin/dish with baking paper
3. Put the black treacle, golden syrup, butter and brown sugar in a pan and slowly heat, stirring until the butter and sugars have dissolved; do not allow to boil – set aside until lukewarm
4. Sift the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and mixed spices into a large mixing bowl and stir in the oats
5. Lightly beat the egg and milk together and add to the dry mixture with the melted sugar and butter
6. With a wooden spoon, mix to a smooth, evenly-mixed batter – don’t over beat
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin/dish and bake near the centre shelf of the oven for about one hour, until the Parkin comes away from the sides and is firm on top. Don’t worry if it’s slightly sunken in the middle,- this is quite normal
8. Allow to cool in the tin/dish for 30 minutes before turning out 
9. When completely cold, wrap in greaseproof paper and store in an airtight tin or container