The History
Parkin is a soft, sticky gingerbread cake made with oatmeal and
treacle. It originated in northern England (where oats rather than wheat was
the staple grain for the less well-off) and is usually associated with the industrial West
Riding of Yorkshire.
Parkin is traditionally eaten on 5th November,
Bonfire Night (aka Guy Fawkes Night), when effigies of the unfortunate
Yorkshire Catholic are burned on huge bonfires built by young children who
spent the previous few weeks foraging for firewood. In some Yorkshire locales,
this activity is known as progging; in others, people call it chumping.
For those that need a refresher, Guy Fawkes was a member of
a group of English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605,
intending to blow up the Houses of Parliament. In times past, the effigy that
was consumed by the flames of the community bonfires was usually of the Pope.
Parkin was such a staple of these celebrations that in 19th century
Leeds, November 5th was known as Parkin Day.
Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder treason
Should
ever be forgot!
and then ….
A penny loaf to feed ol' Pope
A farthing cheese to choke him
A pint of beer to rinse it down
A faggot of sticks to burn him
Burn him in a tub of tar
Burn him like a blazing star
Burn his body from his head
Then we'll say ol' Pope is dead.
The Ingredients
Golden Syrup (UK), Black Treacle (UK) and Molasses (US) are
all liquid syrups formed during the refining of sugar cane.
They vary in color and
taste, depending on when in the process they are extracted. Medium-strength molasses are the essentially the
same thing as black treacle. Do not use Blackstrap molasses which would be too
bitter. At a pinch, honey can be substituted for the Golden Syrup but never,
ever, use corn syrup.
Half a pound of tupenny rice,
Half a pound of treacle.
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop goes the weasel.
Muscovado sugar. This
is an unrefined, soft, dark brown sugar with an intense molasses flavor.
Flour. It is better
to use plain flour + baking soda rather than self-raising flour as (a) the rising
agent in SR can expire and (b) it is easier to control the amount of leavening. I have never tried whole-wheat flour but it’s
worth a go.
The Recipe
Pinch of salt
1 tbs ground ginger
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tbs baking soda (bicarb of soda)
225 g medium oatmeal
100 g unsalted butter
100 g muscovado sugar
175 g golden syrup
175 g black treacle
1 medium/large egg
3 tbs milk
- Preheat the oven to 300 (F) or 150 (C).
- Sift the flour, salt, spices and baking soda together in a large bowl. Stir in the oatmeal.
- Put the butter, sugar, syrup and treacle in another glass bowl and place over a saucepan of water. Heat gently until the butter is melted and the sugar dissolved.
- Beat the egg, combine with the milk and add to the flour/oats mix.
- Pour the syrup mix over the flour/oats and stir. The resulting mixture should be fairly liquid.
- Pour the mix into a 20 cm square cake tin which has been greased with butter and lined with greaseproof or parchment paper.
- Bake for about one hour until firm to the touch.
- Remove from the oven, cool on a wire rack, turn the cake out and wrap in foil for several days.