I’m normally meticulous when baking as I bake cakes for friends and family, ‘ lot’ So I’m a little disappointed in myself given its the first time I’ve tried this. Historically, tharf cakes were also eaten during the Twelfth night or Twelve days after Christmas, and traditionally on the 1st November on All Saints Day or 2nd November, during All Souls Day. Other traditional medieval biscuits for All Souls Day are Soul Cakes which are a crisp biscuit that also contain oatmeal and spices. Heat the mixture until the sugar is melted (don’t boil it) and remove from the heat. Let it cool for 5 minutes.

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance is an independent charity providing a life saving rapid response emergency service to 5 million people across the whole of Yorkshire. The service is operational seven days a week, 365 days a year. The Charity currently attend over 1,500 incidents a year, an average of 5 incidents every single day. In a large pan gently melt the the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup on a low heat, stirring continuously to prevent any burning Place all the dry ingredients consisting of Oatmeal, Flour, Baking Powder and Ginger into a large mixing bowl that is heatproof and gently mix everything together. Then pour the cooled sugar treacle mixture over the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. From Mrs. Jennifer MacRae Howie: “My mother was a professional chef and kept her own book, so there I found a recipe [for Perkins] which is credited to her grandmother. My husband’s aunt was a domestic science teacher in Aberdeen and she … agreed that my great grandmother’s recipe is what we would know as a Perkin … GreatGrandMa Walker was from Motherwell “. Grandma Walker’s Perkins

Sieve the flour, ginger and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl ensuring the ingredients are all well mixed in We are a vegan family recipe blog so all our ingredient recommendations are for plant-based and vegan-friendly ingredients - such as plant-based milk, butter, and margarine - however if you have different dietary requirements you can use your usual ingredients. Parkin is virtually unknown in the south of England [ citation needed]. It is eaten in an area where oats were the staple grain for the poor, rather than wheat. It is closely related to tharf cake – an unsweetened cake cooked on a griddle rather than baked. [7] The traditional time of the year for tharf cakes to be made was directly after the oat harvest in the first week in November. For festive occasions, the cake would be sweetened with honey. In the seventeenth century (about 1650) sugar started to be imported from Barbados, [b] and molasses was a by-product of the refining process. Molasses was first used by apothecaries; to make a medicine theriaca, from which name the word treacle is derived. [8] As molasses became plentiful, or treacle as it became called at that time, it was substituted for honey in the preparation of tharf cakes. [9]

Traditionally Yorkshire parkin is also made with lard instead of butter. Lard adds a layer of richness and also creates a moister cake. We’re using some of each to get the best of both worlds but you can use all butter if you prefer. The original recipe did not contain baking powder or salt, but our egg-free adaption does include baking powder to give the biscuits a little lift during baking and a wee pinch of salt to aid the baking powder in doing its magic. Whole oat groats are dehusked and can either be milled into a fine, medium or course “oatmeal.” Parkin calls for medium. An easy way to make “medium oatmeal” yourself is to take steel-cut oats (also known as Irish oats in the UK) and pulse them briefly in a food processor until they are broken down but not to a fine flour, you want some small chunks to remain which will be visible in the finished parkin and contribute to that wonderful chewy texture of the cake.Or freeze for 2-3 months, well wrapped in food wrap, a layer of kitchen foil and perhaps also pop into a freezer bag.

Its best to use an oatmeal that is intended for baking, and this is sometimes called 'medium oatmeal' or 'Scottish oatmeal' which is ground to a finer consistency compared to steel-cut oatmeal. Although the medium oatmeal is ground it is not exactly flour-like in texture, it is just smaller and finer compared to steel-cut oatmeal.If you aren't in the UK then mixed spice is a blend of sweet spices. You could use pumpkin spice instead or just add a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Heat the oven to 140C. Weigh the treacle, syrup and butter in a medium pan and place over a medium heat until melted together, being careful not to let it boil. Take off the heat. Generously grease a 22cm square baking tin.

Traditionally parkin is associated with the month of November with the first Sunday of the month known as “Parkin Sunday.” Specifically it is a key element of Bonfire Night, or Guy Fawkes Night, where the cake is eaten as part of the festivities. However, parkin is also commonly eaten throughout the winter months. The main difference between parkin and regular ginger cake is that parkin contains oats, usually medium oatmeal. This gives it a denser, chewier texture than ginger cake. For this reason I can't claim that my recipe is the ultimate vegan parkin recipe. However, I did test eight (yes, eight!) different versions and this one was by far mine and my husband's favourite, so it is my personal ultimate vegan parkin.

Though parkin and tharf cake appear to be synonymous, all parkins generally were sweet tharf cakes. [6] Tharf cake [ edit ]