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# Yorkshire Parkin with Butter (Sticky Bonfire Night Ginger Cake)
- URL: https://thefoodiekitchen.net/yorkshire-parkin-butter/
- Published: 2026-10-26T18:11:48.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-26T18:11:48.000Z
- Description: Dark, sticky Yorkshire parkin made with butter, oatmeal, black treacle and ginger. The classic Bonfire Night cake, with no seed oils.
- Author: Savannah Ryan
- Tags: MAHA Recipes

Parkin is the dark, sticky ginger cake of northern England, made with oatmeal, black treacle and golden syrup, and it belongs to Bonfire Night on 5 November. It is not a cake you eat on the day you bake it. You make it, wrap it up and leave it for a few days, and in that time it goes from firm and polite to soft, sticky and deeply flavoured. Bake it this week and it will be perfect for the fireworks.

## Why butter?

A cake with this much treacle and ginger needs a fat with flavour of its own, and that is [butter](https://thefoodiekitchen.net/is-butter-a-seed-oil/). It melts into the syrup, carries the spice and gives the crumb a richness that oil simply cannot. Older recipes often used lard or dripping, the same thrifty fats behind a good [Yorkshire pudding](https://thefoodiekitchen.net/yorkshire-puddings-beef-dripping/), and that works well too. The one thing parkin never needed is a bottle of vegetable oil. If you enjoy the history of dishes like this, Neil Buttery's [British Food: A History](https://britishfoodhistory.com/) is a wonderful place to wander.

**Makes:** 16 squares · **Prep:** 15 minutes, plus 3–5 days resting · **Cook:** 50–60 minutes

## Ingredients

- 200g unsalted butter, plus a little for the tin
- 200g golden syrup
- 85g black treacle
- 85g soft dark brown sugar
- 225g medium oatmeal (not rolled oats; see the FAQ)
- 100g self-raising flour
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- A pinch of salt
- 2 medium eggs, beaten
- 1 tbsp milk

## Method

1. Heat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan, gas 3). Butter a 20cm square tin and line it with baking parchment.
2. Put the butter, golden syrup, treacle and sugar in a large saucepan and warm gently, stirring, until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Keep the heat low; you want it melted, not bubbling.
3. Take the pan off the heat. In a bowl, mix the oatmeal, flour, ginger, mixed spice and salt.
4. Stir the dry ingredients into the warm syrup mixture, then beat in the eggs and milk until you have a smooth, fairly loose batter.
5. Pour into the tin and bake for 50–60 minutes, until firm to the touch in the centre and a skewer comes out clean. It will look a little dense; that is exactly right.
6. Leave to cool completely in the tin, then lift out, wrap in parchment and foil (or pack in an airtight tin) and leave for 3–5 days before cutting into squares. This is the step that turns a firm cake into proper sticky parkin.

## Tips

- Weigh the syrup and treacle straight into the pan on your scales. Warming the spoon first helps the rest slide off.
- Do not overbake. Parkin dries out if it is left in too long, and the resting step cannot fully rescue it.
- For a fiery version, add 1 tbsp finely chopped stem ginger with the eggs.
- Curious how oatmeal and treacle cakes like this developed? The [Food Timeline](https://www.foodtimeline.org/) is a rewarding rabbit hole. Our [seed-oil-free baking guide](https://thefoodiekitchen.net/seed-oil-free-baking-guide/) covers swapping fats in your other favourite bakes.

## FAQ

### Why make parkin with butter?

Butter gives parkin its rich, rounded flavour, which stands up to the treacle and ginger rather than getting lost behind them. Many old recipes used lard or dripping, which works too and gives a slightly more savoury edge, but butter is the one I come back to. What you do not need is the vegetable oil or margarine in some modern versions; they add nothing but a flat, greasy finish.

### Why does parkin need to rest for days?

Freshly baked parkin is firm and a little dry. Wrapped up and left alone, the moisture from the syrup and treacle redistributes and the top turns soft and sticky. Three days is good, five is better.

### Can I use rolled oats instead of oatmeal?

Medium oatmeal gives the classic dense, slightly gritty texture. If rolled oats are all you have, blitz them briefly in a food processor first, so they behave more like oatmeal.

### What is the difference between Yorkshire and Lancashire parkin?

Both are oatmeal gingerbreads from the north of England, and both have their loyal fans. Yorkshire parkin is usually made with black treacle; Lancashire versions often lean more on golden syrup. Neither county will concede the point.

### When is parkin eaten?

It is the traditional cake for Bonfire Night on 5 November, eaten outside in the cold with a cup of tea, but it is just as good any time through autumn and winter.

### How long does parkin keep?

Wrapped well in an airtight tin at cool room temperature, it keeps for a couple of weeks and only gets stickier.

More ideas: [toad in the hole in beef dripping](https://thefoodiekitchen.net/toad-in-the-hole-beef-dripping/) · [Scottish butter shortbread](https://thefoodiekitchen.net/butter-shortbread-scottish/) · [German lebkuchen in butter](https://thefoodiekitchen.net/german-lebkuchen-butter/) · [seed-oil-free desserts](https://thefoodiekitchen.net/seed-oil-free-desserts/).