Tangy Parkin Ginger Cake

This is a nice light Parkin with a tangy orange hint which starts off sticky and gets better and stickier IF you can leave it for a few days. It is also goes well with beer; a nice dark ale or a strong cup of tea. Traditionally served on bonfire night, if you make it now it will be perfect!

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Ingredients:

Cake:
4oz (110g) Butter
4oz (110g) Soft dark brown sugar
2 tbsp Black treacle (Molasses)
2 tbsp Medium or Bitter marmalade

7oz (200g) Plain flour
3oz (90g) Oats
1tsp Ground ginger
½ tsp Mixed spice
2tsp Bicarbonate of soda

1 Egg
4 tbsp Milk

Glaze:

Marmalade

Method:

Preheat oven 140c/120c Fan/275F/Gas Mark 1.

Grease an 8 inch (20cm) square tin and line it with baking paper.

Gently heat the butter, sugar and treacle together, until butter has melted and combine with the marmalade. Stir into the dry ingredients. Add the egg and milk to the mixture and put into tin.

Check after 40 minutes. Cook for a further 20-30 minutes.  Ginger cakes can burn very easily so keep a check towards the end of the cooking time. Cook until risen and a skewer comes cleanly out.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes, make sure the sides of the cake are coming away from the tin and remove.  Brush the top with some warmed marmalade.

Now here’s one of our regular problems; it tastes pretty good the next day, but I repeat, it will taste really good and stickier if you wrap it and leave it for at least three days. 

Options:

An apology to anyone from Yorkshire for calling this a ‘Parkin Ginger Cake’ but for my international friends and relatives ‘Parkin’ didn’t translate that well.  My spell checker has been trying to change it to 'Parking' all week…

Meanwhile this is a variation and it is very light on the oats but they are an essential part of the ingredients for me. I hope you enjoy the tangy orange  hint with the ginger, one of my favourite flavour combinations.  If you are interested in the history of Parkin click *here* .

And while I was thinking about Yorkshire :