Hands up if you’ve heard of Parkin!? Well, if you haven’t, then like me you are probably from the better half of England (aka the South) and if you’re from up North and you’ve never heard of Parkin.. are you even northern as Ian would say?!

When Ian’s family come to visit they always bring some Parkin down with them and at first I was a bit dubious as it looked a bit… well… brown. However, Sticky Toffee Pudding is brown and that is sensational so I gave Parkin a try… I can confirm, it also tastes sensational and as a treat around this time of year, I make it for Ian! Ian says it reminds him of his childhood around this time of year, perfect for Bonfire Night and those cold evenings.

Parkin can be eaten hot (with Ice Cream or Custard) or in my opinion, is better when left for a few days to get extra sticky and eat it cold with a cup of tea or coffee.

This recipe is so simple as all the ingredients go into the one pan – needs to be a Cast Iron Pan such as the STAUB 28cm Round Cast Iron Sauté Pan otherwise it won’t work as well – so you don’t have much washing up to do and it can be served from the pan straight to the table for people to help themselves.

Here is the recipe which is taken from BBC Good Food.

200g salted butter, chopped
85g light brown soft sugar
85g treacle
185g golden syrup
250g self-raising flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
100g porridge oats
2 large eggs
2 tbsp milk
2 balls stem ginger from a jar, chopped, plus 2 tbsp syrup from the jar, and extra to serve
custard or ice cream, to serve (optional)

Method

Stage 1
Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Using a STAUB 28cm Round Cast Iron Sauté Pan gently melt the butter, sugar, treacle and golden syrup together, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the butter is just melted and everything is combined. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly for 5-10 mins.

Stage 2
Sieve the flour and spices together, then mix in the oats. Whisk the eggs, milk, stem ginger and ginger syrup together in a bowl or jug. Stir the dry ingredients into the cooled butter mixture until well combined. Stir in the ginger, milk and egg mixture until you have a thick cake batter. Transfer The STAUB pan to the oven and bake for 45-50 mins until firm and risen.

Serve scooped from the pan with extra ginger syrup and custard or ice cream, if you like, or leave to cool and eat cold. Will keep, wrapped in baking parchment, for up to seven days.