Parkin For Charity

The third Monday in September was a washout; weather wise that is. It was one of several Mondays in September I was having off work as some downtime to allow me to look after effectively two houses and two dogs during the month while keeping things going in my role as this year's president of my local rotary club. Yes I didn't think I was old enough to do the role either but it is an enjoyable one so far.

As I couldn't get much of a walk in with the dog and I was aware that my employer were taking part in the worthy cause of a MacMillan Coffee Morning that Friday I decided to do some baking in preparation for the coffee morning.

Even though it was only September I knew Summer was starting to float into a memory and the foul rain gave a taste of the no doubt cooler and wetter winter weather lurking ahead on the road to shorter nights and mornings spent de-frosting the car. This said the food I decided to make was Parkin.

It's true to say that Parkin originated in Lancashire which is the other end of Pennines from the city where my employer is based. It has a sweet yet charcoal like taste and is very fortifying in the winter months.

As the rain hammered down on the house that I was, rather reluctantly it has to be said, sitting in its owners' absence I got underway with the cooking. On the playlist was the Electric Light Orchestra's difficult second album the aptly titled "ELO 2". During the making of the album founding member Roy Wood left early on during the sessions to become a Christmas one hit wonder and Jeff Lynne meanwhile gradually asserted his leadership of the group. The record contains the King Crimson- like "In Old England Town" the folky "Mama" and some shimmering prog-rock workouts in the shape of "From the Sun to the World" and "Kuaima". After a few spins it becomes clear that it is a strong record and its highlight is a cover of Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven" featuring Jeff Lynne adapting a filthy rock and roll voice and some clever string arrangements.

I put one pound of self-raising flour in a mixing bowl with a tablespoon of ground ginger and six ounces of brown sugar. I mixed these ingredients together with a metal tablespoon until they were well combined.

I then melted two ounces of margarine in a warm pan on the hob before adding the melted margarine to the mixing bowl with a quarter of a pint of milk and a beaten egg. Finally I weighed out eight ounces of treacle and added this to the bowl. The treacle was like any good treacle should be- a dark colour, sticky and sweet.

I stirred all these new ingredients together with the flour, sugar and ginger until I got a thick paste that was the colour of melted dark chocolate. I added the ingredients to a high-sided baking tray lined with greased cooking foil.

The tray of uncooked Parkin was then placed in the oven heated at 170 degrees (180 for non-fan ovens) and cooked for an hour and five minutes. Until it was even darker than before and the surface of it was solid but still soft enough to spring back when touched lightly.

I turned it out in its foil onto the work surface to cool off.  After a couple of hours I cut it into cubes about 3cm x 3cm and then, as it wasn't to be consumed until Friday, put it in containers which I then put in the Freezer. A work colleague said this was a good way of keeping it until then without losing its flavour.

On Wednesday night it was out of the freezer and slowly defrosting. By Friday morning it had been transported to work and was sharing a table in the firm's kitchen with millionaire shortbread and marble cake amongst others in aid of the firm's MacMillan Coffee Morning.

The Parkin, with its rich ginger taste and surprisingly sweet flavours of treacle reminded me that bonfire night and winter were not far away. Quite a few of my colleagues took pieces and contributed money to the charity as well so it certainly helped the firm raise some money for a worthwhile cause.

Above- on the table at work ready for consumption by my colleagues