By Carolyn McDonald Graf
Parkin is a moist sticky ginger cake. Its origin probably goes back to pagan times when cakes were made to celebrate the beginning of winter and the return of the sun after the winter solstice. These celebrations often included bonfires which are still popular during the winter months. The most famous of the bonfires are the ones associated with Guy Fawkes Night, November 5th. There, an effigy of Guy Fawkes, who was part of the 1605 plot to blow up parliament and King James I, is burned amid chants and songs. Parkin, commonly served at these bonfires, is often called bonfire cake. Many Parkin recipes are associated with Yorkshire but just as Guy Fawkes Night is celebrated in Scotland, so is Parkin enjoyed by Scots.
Parkin was created in Northern Britain where oats grew better than wheat. At Fall festivals, recently harvested fresh wheat was a common ingredient. Most breads and cakes of that time were not very sweet but, for a celebration, honey would have been added. This was later replaced with treacle as it became available from Barbados around 1650. Treacle, a by-product of processing sugar, was originally used by apothecaries to make a medicine called theriaca, from which the word treacle was derived. Molasses is a form of treacle that is familiar to most Americans.
The origin of the word Parkin is unknown but there is an amusing legend that it is named after Mary Parkin. The town where she lived was being ravaged by a terrible dragon. When Mary made Parkin for her husband, his jaws remained stuck until he found something to drink. So, she made a giant batch of Parkin and left it for the dragon. Sure enough, when he ate it, his jaws became stuck and he couldn’t open his mouth. When he went to the ocean to drink, the villagers drowned him. Parkin’s cake became famous.
Although Parkin is similar to Sticky Toffee pudding in that it is a type of ginger cake, there are several differences. Parkin contains oats while Sticky Pudding does not. Sticky Pudding contains dates and of course is covered with toffee sauce.
Parkin was enjoyed by the SCOT members and guests who attended the Guy Fawkes Night this year and Brian Proffitt was kind enough to share his version of the recipe with us. Even without the bonfire, this is a warm cake to enjoy at any winter gathering.
One of my sources is an entertaining YouTube video by Max Miller called Tasting History. View it if you want to hear more about Parkin at https://www.tastinghistory.com/recipes/parkin#google_vignette
Ingredients
1 large egg, beaten
4 tablespoons whole milk
14 tablespoons salted butter
1/3 cup molasses or treacle
2/3 cup golden syrup
¼ cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
1 cup oatmeal
2 cups self-rising flour, sifted
1 tablespoons ground ginger
1 teaspoons mixed spice*
Directions
- Heat the oven to 325° F.
- Line an 8 inch square baking tin with parchment paper.
- Briefly chop the oatmeal in a food processor.
- Combine the butter, brown sugar, Golden syrup and molasses and heat until just melted.
- Beat the egg and milk together in a cup.
- Mix the oatmeal, flour, ginger, mixed spice and sugar together in a bowl, pour in the melted molasses mixture and mix together, then beat in the egg and milk.
- Pour into the prepared tin. Bake in the oven for one hour, or until springy in the center.
- Cool in the tin then cut into squares. For a stickier cake, wrap the parkin fully in plastic wrap unsliced, and store in a sealed tin or tupperware for a couple of days or even up to three weeks – it will get more gooey as time goes on.
* Mixed spice may be difficult to find in the US. You can make it by combining 1 teaspoon allspice, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, ½ teaspoon mace, ¼ teaspoon ginger, ¼ teaspoon cloves, and ¼ teaspoon coriander.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/northern-bonfire-night-treat
https://hamlynsoats.co.uk/recipes/parkin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkin_(cake)