Mary Berry Parkin Recipe | British Chefs Table (2024)

FAQs

Why is my parkin dry and crumbly? ›

Not baking parkin for long enough can mean the gooey mixture inside will cause the cake to collapse/sink as it cools. However, leaving it for longer can make the parkin too dry. The best advice is to check with a skewer 10 minutes before the end baking. Then make a judgement based on how clean the skewer is.

We recommend storing the parkin in an airtight container for at least 3 days before digging in, but it will keep for up to 2 weeks.

Over mixing can cause the parkin to sink in the middle, as too much air gets added this way. Instead simply mix to combine all the ingredients before pouring into the cake tin and baking.

There are regional differences, for example in Hull and East Yorkshire, it has a drier, more biscuit-like texture than in other areas whereas in Lancashire it is generally made with golden syrup rather than the treacle used elsewhere.

The oatmeal gives the grainy texture. The oats in the Parkin recipe will absorb a lot of the cake's moisture when baking. Some of the popular versions of Parkin are the ones that are dark and rich. They've used the black treacle or molasses.

Black treacle is a dark, thick syrup that is a byproduct of refining sugar. It is a product of the U.K. and considered to be the British equivalent of molasses, appearing in many of the country's signature food recipes. Black treacle is used in sweets such as toffee, cakes, puddings, and even some drinks.

Both have a deep, aromatic flavour that adds a unique finish to food and drink recipes, but they are subtly different, with treacle tending to be a sweeter product that has less of a bitter profile than molasses. Compared to treacle, molasses is thicker in consistency and darker in colour.

Store the parkin in a cake tin and wrapped in greaseproof paper. You must keep it in a tin for a minimum of 1 day and up to a week before you cut it. Leaving it to develop will give it a moist and sticky texture, as well as making the flavour richer and deeper.

If you are not familiar with it, it's a strongly-spiced sticky gingerbread-cum-cake flavoured with treacle and dark brown sugar that is traditionally eaten on Guy Fawkes Night (the fifth of November, aka Bonfire Night) and for me, it is what makes that day complete.

Parkin was traditionally cooked on 'Plot Night' (5th November) in Yorkshire and eaten outside around a bonfire. No one really knows why it's called 'Parkin', but as this was a common surname in Yorkshire, it may have gained this name to indicate its general popularity with families in the region.

Can I freeze parkin? ›

Store in an airtight container lined with parchment or waxed paper and consume within a couple of weeks. Parkin can also be frozen for longer storage. Wrap in parchment or waxed paper followed by plastic wrap. Place in an airtight container or zip-top bag and freeze for up to three months.

Parkin is very similar to gingerbread however parkin is traditionally made with oatmeal and gingerbread isn't. There is a tradition here in the UK to eat Parkin on bonfire night on 5th November but you will need to make it the week before so it is nice and sticky.

They are the same just in a different format. Oatmeal is usually the whole oat chopped or ground to make coarse, medium or fine oatmeal. They can be cooked the same as porridge oats but some grades of oatmeal (for example, coarse) take longer because of their thicker texture.

Speaking of, what is the difference between oats and oatmeal? Technically, oats refers to the whole grains themselves, and oatmeal to the porridge-like dish often made from them, and/or to the processed form of the whole grains—but now, the terms are often used interchangeably.

Cakes crumble because they've dried out too much. From years of baking, I know that dry cakes happen for one of two reasons; using too much of your dry ingredients or over-baking your cake.

To avoid this, try using as little flour as possible while preparing to roll your dough. Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.

Reducing sugar too much can cause a dry, tight texture as you have described. It is also possible that dividing the batter into two tins at too high baking temperature, especially in a fan oven, may have contributed to the cakes turning out so crumbly.