Parkin

As served by Ginny at Chipwell Barn Antiques

Parkin, sometimes known as Ginger Parkin, Yorkshire Parkin or even, Thar or Tharf Cake, is a sticky ginger cake that originated in northern England – primarily Yorkshire and Lancashire. It would have originally been made with the local grain (oats) and honey, and later, when sugar imports made it cheap, treacle molasses. It also would have been cooked on a griddle (only the rich had ovens) and probably was more like a flapjack than the cake it is today. Although having said that, it’s also sold in some parts of the county as a biscuit or cookie. We tried them like this when we stayed at Westow (near Malton) in 2019.

Original recipes would have contained no flour at all—refined wheat flour is more common in the south of England. Nor would they have contained any sort of raising agent—that was a Victorian invention (baking powder was first sold commercially in 1843). Most modern recipes, however, will include a combination of oats, flour, bicarb soda, or baking powder. 

As well as the oats/flour debate, the recipe differs in colour depending on where in the county you are. The closer you are to Lancashire, for example, the more likely the recipe is to be made with golden syrup and caster sugar, whereas further east it’s made with a combo of treacle and golden syrup and brown sugar. The latter is darker and a little more crumbly, at least in the first few days after baking, but both versions are lovely.

As for the festive side, Parkin is associated with Guy Fawkes Night, the pagan feast of Samhain (from which Halloween has developed) and Martinmas on November 11, which marks the end of the harvest and the end of the agrarian year. 

Okay, to the recipe. This one is from Yorkshireman James Martin. 

As well as being great as an elevenses, he serves it with ice cream, rhubarb and a spiced cider syrup made by boiling together 200g golden syrup, 100ml dry cider, and a half teaspoon each of ground ginger and mixed spice with a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg. (I “borrowed” this recipe for a scene in the upcoming Philly Barker mystery … #justsaying) I’ve doubled the ginger, because I love ginger, but feel free to go a tad easier if you’re not as much of a ginger fan.

It’s an absolute doddle to make—pretty much melt and mix. The hardest part is not cutting it on day one. It’s one of those cakes that becomes more sticky and less crumbly and is best if left for a few days (or a couple of weeks in the case of the older recipes) after baking. This one, though, is quite forgiving, lighter in colour, and more cakier in texture - and it’s the one Ginny serves throughout the year at the cafe at Chipwell Barn Antiques in the Philly Barker books.

Anyways, without further palaver, here’s the recipe…

What you need

• 225g self-raising flour

• 110g caster sugar

• 1 tbsp ground ginger

• 1 tsp bicarb soda

• 25g porridge oats or oatmeal (not the quick oats type)

• 1 egg

• 200ml milk

• 55g butter

• 110g golden syrup

• 22cm square cake tin, greased and lined with parchment/baking paper

What you do with it

• Preheat the oven to 150C

• Sift the flour, ginger and bicarb into a large bowl. Stir in the oats and sugar

• In a small pan over a low-medium heat, gently melt the butter and syrup, but don’t allow it to boil

• Beat the egg into the milk

• Gradually pour the butter and syrup into the flour and stir. The mixture will be thick and clumpy and smell like Anzac biscuits.

• Pour in the egg and milk and stir until smooth and pour into the lined tin. It will be a looser batter than you might expect

• Bake for about an hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Depending on your oven, start check for done-ness at around the 45 minute mark