Method :
Set the oven
to 180C, Mark 4. Rub a little butter round the inside of a cake tin,
20cm x 20cm x 5cm. Then put a circle of buttered paper on the bottom of
the cake tin. Put more pieces of buttered paper round the sides of the
cake tin. Cut the butter into small pieces. Put the flour, salt, mixed
spice, cinnamon, ginger, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder through a
sieve into a large bowl. Add the pieces of butter to this bowl. Use your
fingers and rub the butter into the flour etc. until the mixture looks
like breadcrumbs. Add the oatmeal and sugar and mix well. Melt the syrup
and treacle in a saucepan over a low heat. Make a hole in the centre of
the ingredients in the large bowl. Pour the melted treacle and syrup
into the hole. Add the milk. Beat the mixture well with a wooden spoon.
Put the Parkin mixture into the cake tin. Make the top smooth with a
palette knife.
Bake the
Parkin at the centre of the oven for 45 minutes - 1 hour. Test it with a
skewer. If the skewer comes out clean, the Parkin is ready. If not, put
it back in the oven for 10 minutes more. Test it again. Take the Parkin
out of the oven and leave it in the cake tin for 15 minutes. Then take
it out of the cake tin and put it on a wire rack. Let it get cold. Put
aluminum foil around the cake lightly and keep it in an airtight tin for
about a week before you eat it.
Makes 10-12 Parkin
This is a
dark cake with a strong taste, it comes from Lancashire and Yorkshire in
the north of England. It contains oatmeal, which is used in a lot of
traditional cooking especially in Scotland and the north of England.
Parkin tastes better if you keep it in an airtight tin for a week before
you eat it.
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