Sparkin' Parkin - The Perfect Bonfire Night Treat!

While people the world over will be out Trick or Treating, Bobbing For Apples or shaking their tailfeather while donning a super scary costume, those of us who grew up in Britain will know that Before Halloween took over the country, as it did the world, as the most highly anticipated autumnal event, there was another event, celebrated annually in Britain that was once the highlight of the season and also had origins of the macabre and sinister variety - Guy Fawkes Night. Also known as Bonfire Night and informally known as Fireworks Night, this great event takes place on November 5th - just a few days after Halloween. Unfortunately though, Guy Fawkes Night has fallen out of favour a fair bit ever since most of the world - British folk included - decided that they'd rather don costumes, visit haunted houses and partake in other traditions made famous by our American cousins.

But while Guy Fawkes Night isn't the biggest event on the British social calendar that it once was, there are still a lot of people who do celebrate the anniversary of the foiled terrorist attack on Parliament back in the seventeenth century. And for those who do choose to celebrate in style, they will partake in traditions such as setting off a plethora of fireworks in their back garden; attending fireworks displays; gathering around the bonfire with their nearest and dearest, as well as indulging in traditional Bonfire Night fare which includes... parkin!

WHAT IS PARKIN?

Parkin is an ever so delicious baked goody that's as synonymous with Guy Fawkes Night as bonfires, Catherine wheels, and toffee apples. This spiced, sweet treat is traditionally served up on Guy Fawkes Night and is the perfect thing to tuck into while gathered around the glowing flames of a bonfire on a cold, dark night. It's very similar to gingerbread in appearance and taste but it has a different texture as one of the key ingredients is coarsely ground oatmeal. Parkin also contains spices, lots of molasses, treacle or golden syrup which gives parkin its sticky texture.

There are two types of parkin - one that hails from Lancashire and the other from Yorkshire. One of the things that's quite unusual about parkin is that you're not supposed to consume it the day it's baked. Instead you leave it in an airtight container for the parkin to 'mature;' so that the flavour develops and the sticky texture intensifies.

HOW LONG DO YOU LEAVE IT TO MATURE FOR?

Hmm, this depends. Some recipes claim that three to five days is sufficient. Others say seven, some say ten, and there's a couple who tell you to leave it in an airtight container for as long as is humanly possible! The first time we made parkin we consumed it after ten days and it lasted for three weeks. The second time was also left to mature around ten days but unfortunately it didn't keep for more than two weeks after that. It would appear that the more sugar you add to the recipe, the longer the parkin keeps. But we think five to seven days is a good amount of time to allow the parkin to mature.

SO WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LANCASHIRE AND YORKSHIRE PARKIN?

Lancashire parkin is lighter, more golden brown in colour as it contains more golden syrup. Yorkshire parkin is darker in colour with a much deeper flavour as it's made with black molasses.

If you're a newcomer to parkin it might be an idea to try the Lancashire version first, as some find the Yorkshire version a bit bitter due to the high black molasses content. That might explain why Yorkshire parkin is generally served in wedges topped with stewed apple. Lancashire parkin, on the other hand, is sweeter and tastes a lot more like regular gingerbread. And while not necessarily customary, there's no reason why you can't serve Lancashire parkin with a portion of apple compote because who can say no to apple desserts... though people in Lancashire might beg to differ!

THE ORIGINS OF PARKIN

While the origins of this deliciously, sticky cake with a spicy kick are not totally clear, we do know that parkin is peculiar to the north of England. Some believe that parkin is older than Guy Fawkes himself and could be linked to Paganism or All Saints Day. But it became more popular in eighteenth century England, and the first mention of parkin by name could be found in court records from 1728, where one Anne Whittaker was accused of stealing oatmeal to make it!

Guy Fawkes Night staples such as Parkin and Bonfire Toffee were popular many centuries ago because they were easy to make and kept for a long time. This was the late eighteenth century in England when refined white sugar was very expensive and not easily affordable by those who lived in the poorer northern region of the country. So instead of the refined, white sugar, they opted for its cheaper counterpart - treacle! Another thing that was consumed in large quantities was oatmeal, a less costly cereal. Treacle and oatmeal - the two chief ingredients of parkin!

Go ahead and give our recipe a go - we hope you won't be disappointed.

INGREDIENTS

8oz/2 cups/227g plain flour

7oz/1 cup/200g soft dark brown sugar

6oz/1 cup/170g medium oatmeal

3 level tsps./9g ground ginger

1 level tsp/3g ground nutmeg (optional)

1 level tsp./3g ground cinnamon (optional)

2" piece of root ginger, peeled and finely grated (optional)

5oz/142g butter

1 egg

3 fl oz/89ml black treacle or black molasses

7 fl oz/207ml golden treacle or golden syrup

1 level tsp./5g bicarbonate of soda

1/4 pint/5 fl oz/150ml of warm milk

1/2 level tsp./3g salt

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 325°F/170°C/Gas Mark 3

• Grease an 8x8 baking tin and line the bottom with parchment paper.

• In a large mixing bowl, mix oatmeal, flour, spices (including root ginger if using) salt.

• In a saucepan, place brown sugar, butter, black treacle/molasses, golden treacle/syrup, and gently heat the mixture until sugar has thoroughly melted while taking care NOT to boil the mixture.

• Remove sugar mixture from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

• In the meanwhile, dissolve the bicarbonate into the warm milk. When sufficiently cool, add the beaten egg and mix well.

• Pour sugar mixture into the dry mixture and combine well.

• Add milk mixture and combine well to form a thick, sticky batter.

• Pour the batter into baking tin and bake for 70 minutes or until a skewer inserted into middle of cake comes out clean. The cake should be quite firm and springy.

• Allow parkin to cool in tin.

• Remove from tin, remove parchment paper, and cut into squares.

• As difficult as this may be, place parkin squares in airtight container and leave it in there for at least three days! allow it to sit for at least 3 days before eating.

NOTES

• A lot of the recipes we looked at when trying to make parkin don't necessarily specify a particular type of oats. But we can tell you that Instant oats are definitely out and are not recommended for Parkin. The kind of oats traditionally used when baking parkin are steel-cut oats. We have however used rolled oats and it has been fine.

• A medium-coarse oatmeal is needed for parkin, so if necessary the oatmeal can be briefly pulsed in a food processor until they are broken down to the required sized pieces. But be careful about overdoing it and pulsing the oatmeal into a fine flour which is not what you want, as you need it to be more on the coarse side in the name of texture!

• As you know Yorkshire parkin generally uses black treacle/molasses while Lancashire parkin uses golden syrup. However while it may not necessarily be traditional, there's nothing to stop you mixing the two until you get the desired flavour. The ratio of black treacle parts to golden syrup is a matter of personal taste. Yes it's trial and error but a helpful hint is that if you prefer fuller, stronger flavour then head down the Yorkshire route and add more black molasses. But if you would prefer a more milder but still delicious flavour, then go for more of the golden syrup.