Lancashire Parkin
Photo: Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent, CC BY 3.0
Lancashire parkin is the traditional cake for Fifth of November in parts of Greater Manchester. It is baked into a hard slab on purpose. Golden syrup is hygroscopic, so as the cake rests in a sealed tin for two days it draws in moisture and turns soft, dense and sticky. The method is simple, a melt-and-stir batter of oatmeal, ginger and syrup, but the patience afterwards is what makes it right.
Instructions
Heat the oven to 150°C (300°F, gas mark 2). Stand the unopened tin of golden syrup in a bowl of hot water so it loosens and pours easily.
Stir the flour, oatmeal, sugar, ginger and bicarbonate of soda (if using) together in a large bowl.
Pour the syrup into a saucepan and warm it gently, without letting it boil. Add the margarine and stir until it has melted into the syrup.
Grease a 12-inch square baking tray, or an 11x13 inch pan, using the margarine wrapper. Line it with baking paper.
Pour the hot syrup and fat into the dry ingredients and stir thoroughly but quickly, until no dry patches remain.
Spread the mixture into the tray and bake on the bottom shelf of the oven for 2 hours.
Turn the slab out onto a cooling grid. After an hour, cut it into four pieces and keep them in a sealed tin for 48 hours, until the cake has softened to the right texture. It can be eaten warm, but is better after at least a night in the tin.
Cut each quarter into long strips, getting 8 to 12 slices from each.
Make it personal.
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