SHF #7: Black and Sticky

                                                   

Sugar High Friday time again, wow that went quick...So this time it is being hosted by Derrick at An Obsession With Food and the theme for this month is Black and Sticky, which equates to molasses, and because i'm a Brit, Derrick kindly let us use treacle of the dark or light variety if we so wanted.

And yes, how i wanted!  I ended up making the very first thing which entered my mind a few weeks ago.  That is Parkin.  I toyed with making things like a molasses bread, ginger cake, a good old fashioned Treacle Tart but in the end the Parkin won out. 

You know how sometimes you really want to make a recipe at a certain time of year, to suit the season i suppose, but then you get very sidetracked and it falls by the wayside.  Well, that is how it went for me with Parkin.  I had intended to make it about 6 months ago when it was Bonfire Night over here, it's the perfect baked snack for that time of year, spicy, gingery, cinnamon and i love it, but i never got around to making it for myself.  So i guess this is like a 6 month late redressing of the balance for me!

Parkin traditionally comes from Yorkshire, though i have read of a Lancashire version of it, and is all related to being fabulous to eat in the 'parky weather' you get in the winter, which is why it's perfect to eat in November and around Bonfire Night.

The following recipe is basically a replica of this recipe from the i Village website and the source is Olivia Lacey.

Ingredients -

100g unsalted butter

50g soft brown sugar

2 tbsp treacle

2 tbsp golden syrup

175ml milk

100g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloved or mixed spice

100g oats

Directions -

1.  Preheat the oven to 180 deg C/350 deg F/gas mark 4

2.  Grease a 20cm baking tray with butter. 

3.  In a large saucepan melt the butter, sugar and treacle together over a low heat.   Make sure to not let it burn or boil.

4.  Remove from heat and stir in the golden syrup and milk.

5.  Add the plain flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and cloves/mixed spice and mix well, beating to remove lumps.

6.  Stir in the oats.

7.  Pour into the baking tray and cook for 40-60 minutes.  Test by pressing the top with your fingertip.  It should spring back and not leave a dent.

8.  Cut into squares and leave to cool on a wire rack.

This should make about 10 squares and takes about 20 minutes to prepare.  With not too much washing up, a definite bonus!  This is a fabulously easy and quick thing to bake.  Just right when you want to stock up on calories, and fast!

Comments

[mary g]

In my Ohio childhood, I used to read about parkin in English children's books, and always thought of it as a kind of shortbread cake, for some reason. Glad to be corrected--plus it looks delicious.