Okay today I am sharing my mum’s Parkin recipe this is partly from a self reason that whenever I write it down I lose it so if I publish it here I will know where to find it. Parkin is traditionally made for Bonfire/Guy Fawkes Night here in the UK. Yup we have special food to eat while we stand in the cold watching an effigy of a man burn. But it is so good why only eat it one night a year plus I found three bags of oatmeal in the cupboard so here we go again it is really simple to make.
First gather those ingredients…
4 cups of Plain Flour (think that is all purpose flour in the US – use the one you would use for pastry rather than sponges)
4 cups Medium Oatmeal
1 cup sugar
2 tsp ginger
2 tsp bicarb
4 oz margarine
then after rubbing in that lot make a well in the middle and add the golden syrup and milk..
Then give it a good stir or have your assistant do it…
Once you have ensured all the dry mix is well and truly stirred it it will look a little like porridge but the smell will be amazing already
Next step is grease and line your tin, you can either use loaf tins or I prefer using a bigger tin and making a big slab – I do have one tip here for you if like me you like having proper butter at home when you finish it or unwrap it to put it in the butter dish save the wrappers just fold them up and keep them in the fridge and when you need to grease anything just grab one use and throw – it save using extra greaseproof just to rip up and use and it means you are less likely to over grease.
Tip the mixture into your lined tin and level it out
Then into the oven cook for half an hour on gas mark 4 then turn down to 2 until its done which will be about another half hour.
Remove from oven and place on rack to cool before removing greaseproof paper.
Divide up into squares…
Then place in a tin. A metal tin is better I am experimenting as I only had a plastic one by wrapping tin foil round them. The longer you can leave it in the tin in theory the sticker it gets but that is if it lasts that long – it can seem a little dry to those not used to Parkin but it also tastes lovely served warm with custard over it.
So that’s my mums Parkin recipe please if you decide to try it out let me know what you think.
Paula Acton 
My Dad says he likes the sound of this and could I borrow your chef please!
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Ooh, Dallas beat me to it! I would like one of those little helpers, please. The recipe looks good, too. 😉
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the only problem with little helpers is they have a habit of creating extra mess
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well being from Yorkshire he will appreciate a good piece of parkin Dallas 😀
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I love the apprentice! The Parkin looks great as well 😉
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Loved the cookery lesson. Reminded me of school Domestic Science lessons which is the last time I made these. Look good enough to eat!
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they didn’t last long enough to get sticky in the tin 😀
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I bet. I loved your little helper. Kids love being involved like that.
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What a fabulous post! I love the photos of your little helper! I have forwarded this to my daughters’ former scout leaders, who celebrate Guy Fawkes Day every year. Thanks for a fun post, Paula.
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just as long as they send you some round if they make it 😀
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I’m gonna make some! Forgot how good Parkin is!!
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can’t think why we only make it once a year lol
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Fantastic, Paula. Love everything about this post – Monster looks like a great wee helper too! 🙂
Never tried Parkin before but have James Martin’s recipe for it. I shall be trying your mother’s ‘cos it looks great! 🙂
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