Cookbook:Lancashire Parkin

Lancashire Parkin
Category	Cake recipes
Time	Prep: 15 minutes Baking: 2 hours Resting: 2 days
Difficulty

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Lancashire parkin is a traditional cake eaten on Fifth of November in parts of Greater Manchester. Like many gingerbreads, it is baked into a hard slab. It then softens due to the hygroscopic properties of golden syrup.

Ingredients

• 340 g (1 ½ cups / 12 oz) self-raising flour
• 340 g (1 ½ cups / 12 oz) oatmeal
• 220 g (1 cup or 8 oz) caster sugar
• 1 tbsp powdered ginger
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (optional)
• 440 g (2 cups / 16 oz / 1 lb) tin golden syrup (Tate & Lyle's brand preferred)
• 220 g (1 cup / 8 oz) hard margarine

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F or gas mark 2).
2. Warm the tin of golden syrup in a bowl of hot water.
3. Mix together all the dry ingredients.
4. Empty the golden syrup into a saucepan, and warm it gently without boiling. You can balance the tin over the pan by using two chopsticks.
5. Melt the margarine into the syrup.
6. Use the margarine wrapper to grease a 12-inch square baking tray (an 11x13 inch pan will also work). Line the tin with baking paper.
7. Mix the hot syrup and fat into the dry ingredients. Stir thoroughly but quickly.
8. Spread the dough into the baking tray. Put it on the bottom shelf of the preheated oven, and bake for 2 hours.
9. Remove from oven, and turn the slab out from the tray onto a cooling grid. After an hour, cut into four, and store in a sealed tin for 48 hours to reach correct consistency. It can be eaten while warm, but it is better if it is stored at least overnight.
10. Cut into long strips, getting between 8 and 12 slices from each quarter.