Why We Love This Recipe
Autumn brings with it warm comforting spices, colder evenings, Halloween and Bonfire Night — and with that, you’ve got to have cake. This Double Ginger Parkin brings all those cosy feelings together in one sticky, spiced bake.
It’s rich with treacle and golden syrup, packed with warming ginger, and has that perfect chewy texture Parkin is famous for. Enjoy it with a cup of Yorkshire Tea, a scoop of ice cream, or simply on its own while you soak up its sticky, nostalgic goodness.
It’s one of those traditional bakes that instantly fills your kitchen with the scent of autumn and memories of Bonfire Night celebrations gone by.
Why This Dish Works on a Budget
Baking traditional cakes like this is a great way to enjoy homemade treats without spending much:
- Made with basic, affordable ingredients — oats, syrup, treacle, flour, and sugar.
- Keeps beautifully for days, actually tasting better as it gets stickier, so nothing goes to waste.
- Perfect for batch baking — one tin easily feeds a crowd for Bonfire Night or family get-togethers.
- Minimal equipment and prep time, making it an easy win for home bakers.
A Little Bit of History
Ginger Parkin has a long and storied history, dating back as far as the 17th century. Its roots are linked to ancient pagan traditions and winter festivals, where spiced cakes symbolised warmth and celebration as the cold months set in.
The first recorded mention of Parkin appears in court documents from 1728, and it soon became a staple of Yorkshire Bonfire Night celebrations, evolving alongside the commemorations of Guy Fawkes’ plot.
Originally made from humble oatcakes, the recipe transformed over time to include black treacle, golden syrup, and ginger — ingredients that gave it the distinctive dark colour, rich flavour, and sticky texture we know and love today.
The name “Parkin” is thought to have come from the common Yorkshire surname Perkin, giving this comforting cake an even more local charm.
Will You Be Trying It?
If you love traditional British bakes or anything spiced and sticky, this one’s a must. It’s the perfect cake to make ahead of Bonfire Night — it only gets better with time!
Serve it slightly warm with custard, or cold with a dollop of cream. However you enjoy it, this Ginger Parkin will become a firm family favourite.
Final Thoughts
This Double Ginger Parkin is everything autumn baking should be — comforting, nostalgic, and full of flavour. It’s a slice of Yorkshire history that brings people together, whether around the bonfire, at the table, or over a simple cup of tea.
So light the sparklers, wrap up warm, and tuck into a piece of this sticky, spiced goodness — because Bonfire Night just isn’t the same without it.
Budget Breakdown 🛒💷
Here’s how the cost per portion stacks up across the top 5 UK supermarkets:
- Aldi – £0.33
- Asda – £0.35
- Sainsburys – £0.36
- Tesco – £0.34
- Sainsbury’s – £0.36
(Prices and stores correct at the time of posting — always worth checking for offers!)
Double Ginger Parkin
Ingredients
- 200 g butter plus extra for greasing
- 1 large egg
- 4 tbsp milk
- 200 g golden syrup
- 85 g black treacle
- 85 g light soft brown sugar
- 100 g medium oatmeal
- 250 g self-raising flour
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 2 tbsp stem ginger finely chopped
- 1 tbsp stem ginger syrup
Instructions
Prepare the tin
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan / Gas 3). Butter a deep 22cm square cake tin and line it with baking parchment.
Mix wet ingredients
- In a small bowl, beat the egg and milk together with a fork. Gently heat the golden syrup, treacle, sugar, and butter in a large pan over low heat until the sugar dissolves — about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Bring it all together
- In a large bowl, mix together the oatmeal, flour, and ground ginger. Stir in the warm syrup mixture, then add the egg and milk mixture, followed by the stem ginger and ginger syrup. Mix until well combined.
Bake
- Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until the cake feels firm and slightly crusty on top.
Cool and store
- Allow to cool in the tin, then wrap in baking parchment and foil. Store for at least 5 days before eating if you can — the flavour deepens, and the texture turns gloriously sticky.
Serving Suggestion
- Enjoy with a warm cup of tea, a drizzle of cream, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It keeps beautifully for up to two weeks, growing softer and stickier with time — just as a good Parkin should.
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