Traditionally, Yorkshire Parkin is made here in Britain on Bonfire night – 5 November. Though, I have made it for friends on other occasions – who love the taste of blackstrap molasses and ginger! Bonfire night, otherwise known as Guy Fawkes night, is celebrated here in the United Kingdom on 5 November each year. Dating back to 1605, it is the time when Guy Fawkes, a Yorkshireman, attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London with gunpowder. His gunpowder plot may have failed, but it has ignited (forgive the pun) an annual tradition. Since then, bonfires are lit across the land to celebrate the continued safety of the Monarchy. Borne out of Bonfire night is Yorkshire Parkin. Parkin is a traditional dark gingerbread, with a luscious soft, texture, and made with oatmeal and treacle or molasses and served on this day. This recipe for Parkin uses blackstrap molasses below. I love black molasses not only because is it a thick viscous syrup but it provides this exquisite full-bodied bittersweet flavour too. As an alternate to the molasses, you can substitute treacle. I use fresh ginger in this recipe rather than ground ginger because fresh ginger does not tend to be as potent for me. To make this dish gluten-free, I use buckwheat. Ideally, you should keep Parkin in a stored container for about a week. This allows the Parkin to become quite chewy. The recipe below is for sticky and moist Parkin. If it is Bonfire night you are celebrating then time to grab those sparklers and get celebrating!
Top tip – I boil the kettle and place boiling water into a glass dish. I dunk in a stainless steel spoon. This heated spoon ensures that as I take out the molasses from the jar, measure it and place into the melted butter, the molasses gently falls off the spoon. This way I do not waste any of the molasses.
Ingredients
Instructions
2 comments
This is such an amazing recipe, thank you Edward! I have made it and it is an instant hit with my family as nearly half has already gone :)
I did a tiny bit of tweaking. I used a teaspoon of baking powder and about 125 mls of water. I also used black treacle and frozen fresh ginger root which is easier to grate. I also used normal flour as I didn’t have any whole meal. It was absolutely deliciously light and chewy just wondering if I should add some grated nutmeg next time I make it.:)
Thanks, Maryam. Always lovely to have feeback! Love. Edward x