A recipe for Traditional Yorkshire Parkin, this recipe originates from the North of England, and is made with oatmeal and black treacle.
A good sticky, Traditional Yorkshire Parkin was made a week ago, in readiness for Bonfire Night. It’s been sitting in a tin in the pantry, where it’s being getting even stickier. Parkins are usually made at least a week or 2 before you eat them, and this is now ready to be anointed with a goodly smear of butter, or a slice of Wensleydale cheese, before being enjoyed with a cuppa.
Traditional Yorkshire Parkin is a ginger cake (gingerbread) that originates from the North of England, and is made with oatmeal and black treacle. There are many regional variations, with some parkins in the East Riding of Yorkshire being baked to an almost biscuit-like texture. And, some versions are cut into biscuits, similar to flapjacks.
Traditionally eaten on Bonfire Night, the 5th of November (aka Fireworks Night and Guy Fawkes Night), it is enjoyed throughout the winter months. There is some controversy around the addition of eggs in a parkin; my recipe does include an egg, as that’s the way my mum and her mum before her made parkin, and as I keep chickens, I always have a ready supply of eggs.
However, in many recipes an egg or eggs are never added, I’ll leave that dilemma up to you. Other variations of parkin include the Derbyshire “Thor Cake” and Lancashire’s “Tharf Cake”. Irrelevant of where in the North you live, the main ingredients in a parkin are ALWAYS ginger, and lots of it, black trickle and oatmeal, NOT porridge oats.
Other Variations of Parkin
One of my very favourite cookbooks is Recipes from an Old Farmhouse by Alison Uttley. In her cookbook, she recalls and shares recipes from her childhood growing up on a farm in the Derbyshire Peak District, based on the semi-autobiographical book “The Country Child”.
In the first chapter titled “Thor Cake and Gingerbread”, Alison shares her mother’s recipe for “Thor Cake”, which I’ve shared below. She also recounts how they all enjoyed the cake on Bonfire Night……
“This cake used to be our food on Guy Fawkes night when we ate it under the stars, with mugs of hot milk, or spiced elderberry wine for the adults. We watched the sparks fly, we shouted at the fireworks as we had our feast”
Thor Cake Recipe
“A pound of medium oatmeal and half a pound of good fresh butter, half a pound of Demerara sugar, and four ounces of black treacle, half an ounce of ground ginger and a pinch of salt, mace and nutmeg, one egg, four ounces of sliced mixed candied peel. The dry ingredients were mixed and the butter warmed and the hot treacle added. All the ingredients were kneaded together like bread, turned out on a pastry board and rolled out in once piece about two inches thick. This was baked in a large greases and lined meat tin, for about three quarters of an hour, until the cake was done. Slices were cut off as needed when the cake was cold. For tea it was eaten with butter.”
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More Ginger, Halloween & Bonfire Night Recipes
- PEAR & WALNUT CAKE
- All Soul’s Day and a Traditional Soul-Cakes Recipe
- Frosted Ginger Cake with Crystallised Ginger
- Spooky Spider Cakes for a Howling Halloween!
- Twit Woo Hooting Halloween Owl Cupcakes
- DARK STICKY DOUBLE GINGERBREAD
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I hope you have enjoyed reading today’s post and feel inspired to make my recipe for Traditional Yorkshire Parkin. If you make it now, then it will be at just the correct level of stickiness for Halloween and Bonfire Night!
PLEASE do let me know if you make my recipe, or even if you try one of the other recipes I have shared for Thor Cake and Parkin. Have a lovely weekend, Karen
Yorkshire Parkin
A good sticky Yorkshire Parkin was made a week ago, in readiness for Bonfire Night. It’s been sitting in a tin in the pantry, where it’s being getting even stickier! Parkins are usually made at least a week or 2 before you eat them, and this is now ready to be anointed with a goodly smear of butter, or a slice of Wensleydale cheese, before being enjoyed with a cuppa. Parkin is a traditional ginger cake (gingerbread) that originates from the North of England, and is made with oatmeal and black treacle. There are many regional variations, with some parkins in the East Riding of Yorkshire being baked to an almost biscuit-like texture. Traditionally eaten on Bonfire Night, the 5th of November (aka Fireworks Night and Guy Fawkes Night), it is enjoyed throughout the winter months. There is some controversy around the addition of eggs in a parkin; mine does include an egg, as that's the way my mum and her mum before her made it. But, in many recipes an egg or eggs are never added, I'll leave that dilemma up to you! Other variations of parkin include the Derbyshire "Thor Cake" and Lancashire's "Tharf Cake". Irrelevant of where in the North you live, the main ingredients in a parkin are ALWAYS ginger, and lots of it, black trickle and oatmeal, NOT porridge oats.
Ingredients
- 225g (8ozs) SR Flour
- 350g (12ozs) medium oatmeal
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 115g (4ozs) unsalted butter
- 225 (8ozs) black treacle
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 115g (4ozs) Demerara sugar or soft brown sugar
- 1 free-range egg, beaten
- 150ml (1/4 pint) milk
Instructions
- Grease and line a square baking tin (18cm x 18cm/7" x 7") withy baking paper. Pre-heat oven to 180C/375F/Gas 4.
- Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan with the black treacle, lemon juice and Demerara sugar.
- Pour the butter and treacle mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well, before adding the beaten egg and the milk.
- Pour or spoon the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for between 50 minutes and 1 hour until firm. Remove from the oven and leave the parkin in the tin to cool completely.
- Remove the parkin in the baking paper from the tin once it is cold, and store it UNCUT in an airtight container of cake tin for between 1 and 2 weeks before cutting into squares and serving.
- Serve buttered or with a slice of Wensleydale cheese and an apple.
Notes
Optional extras:
Add 75g chopped crystallised ginger to the cake mixture before baking.
Use half black treacle and half golden syrup for a lighter parkin.
Old Recipe taken from Farmhouse Cooking by Mrs Arthur Webb:
1/2lb oatmeal; 1/2lb flour; 1lb treacle; 1/4lb lard (butter); 1/2oz ground ginger; 1 teaspoon sugar; 1 tablespoon milk; 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda.
(1/2lb = 225g; 1lb = 450g; 1/4lb = 115g)
Rub butter into oatmeal and flour, and add the ginger and sugar. Heat the treacle until it’s runny and mix bicarbonate of soda with milk. Mix all liquids together. Pour into dry ingredients and mix well. Line a roasting tin of oven tray with greased paper and spoon mixture into. Level with knife. Bake in moderate oven (180C/375F/Gas 4) for 1 1/4 hours. Cut into squares when cooled (circa 1900 recipe)
Thor Cake taken from Recipes from an Old Farmhouse by Alison Uttley:
"A pound of medium oatmeal and half a pound of good fresh butter, half a pound of Demerara sugar, and four ounces of black treacle, half an ounce of ground ginger and a pinch of salt, mace and nutmeg, one egg, four ounces of sliced mixed candied peel. The dry ingredients were mixed and the butter warmed and the hot treacle added. All the ingredients were kneaded together like bread, turned out on a pastry board and rolled out in once piece about two inches thick. This was baked in a large greases and lined meat tin, for about three quarters of an hour, until the cake was done. Slices were cut off as needed when the cake was cold. For tea it was eaten with butter."
Nutrition Information
Yield 16 Squares Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 53Total Fat 1gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 14mgSodium 44mgCarbohydrates 9gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 2g
Marysa Norris says
Thank you for this recipe. It brings back wonderful memories of my grandmother Mary Walsworth , a ‘good plain cook’ and a Scot transplanted to Yorkshire. We had this on Bonfire night along with treacle toffee. She always made porridge with rolled oats and kept oatmeal for Parkin and herrings fried in oatmeal.
I shall make it today.
Marysa
Karen Burns-Booth says
What WONDERFUL memories Marysa, and there are a lot of recipes that are shared by Scottish and Yorkshire people, as they moved and lived freely over the border. I LOVE herrings fried in oatmeal too, 🙂 Karen
Veenas says
That is So Yummy !! Very Awesome to Looking these Photos. Thank You for Sharing.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Veenas! 🙂
sherry says
i have that allison uttley book and i’ve often thought of making thor cake but it looks a bit heavy going for a queensland summer! i bet it’s delish tho.
Karen Burns-Booth says
I love the book and agree that Thor Cake might be a bit heavy to bake in Queensland in the summer! Karen
Nic | Nic's Adventures & Bakes says
Thanks for sharing, this cake looks lovely esp for bonfire night or with a cup of tea 🙂
Nic | Nic’s Adventures & Bakes
Karen Burns-Booth says
Exactly that and perfect for Bonfire Night as you say.
Kit Eckert says
I live in the US and I’m unfamiliar with some of the ingredients. What is medium oatmeal? Is it the same as quick cooking oatmeal?
Karen Burns-Booth says
Hi Kit – I think medium oatmeal is what you call steel cut or pinhead oats. They are definitely not instant oats! Karen
Frances Stretton says
Hi Karen
This sounds delicious! I don’t have any oatmeal, so could I blitz some organic jumbo oats in the food processor to use, do you think?
Thanks!
Karen Burns-Booth says
Hi Frances, that should work nicely – but don’t over process the jumbo oats as you still need a bit of texture! Karen