Sticky Ginger Cake Recipe

This spicy bake is based on the traditional northern cake called Parkin, typically eaten on Bonfire Night in Yorkshire and Lancashire. Both counties claim it as their own invention, but i'll let them fight it out!

It's a very simple cake to make, getting its sticky quality from the golden syrup and treacle. The longer you leave this cake wrapped in a tin over the course of a week, the stickier and more delicious it becomes, so it's definitely worth making in advance of when you want to serve it.

The sponge is bulked out with oatmeal, which is perfect for an extra surge of energy on a cold night. Depending on your tastes you can up the ginger impact by drizzling the cake with stem ginger syrup as it cools from the oven. This also gives is a lovely glossy crust.

Makes:16 slices

Ingredients:

For the cake:

125g golden syrup

85g treacle

200g butter

180g Dark, soft brown sugar

100g Medium oatmeal

200g Self-raising flour

2 tsp Ground ginger

2 tsp Ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

1 large egg

4 tbsb milk

Steam ginger syrup, optional

For the icing:

8 heaped tbsp heeped icing sugar

1 lemon, juice only

Sprinkles

Instructions:

1. Grease and line a 20cm square tin and pre-heat the oven to 160C/140C fan, gas 3.

2. Measure the golden syrup and treacle into a saucepan and gently heat with the butter and sugar until melted and combined. Set aside.

3. If you just have regular oats give them a gentle blitz in a food processor to refine them a little, then transfer into a mixing bowl with the flour, ginger, cinnamon and a pinch of salt.

4. Make a well and add the syrupy mixture and stir until combined. Then add in the beaten egg and milk.

5. Pour the mixture into the lined tin and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 1 hour, until the cake feels firm to touch. Take out of the oven and allow to cool in the tin. For an extra punch of ginger spike the surface of the cake while it's cooling with a cocktail stick and drizzle with a few tablespoons of stem ginger syrup.

6. Wrap in baking parchment and keep in a tin until needed - it will get more intense in flavour and stickier in texture across the course of 3-5 days.

7. Just before you're ready to serve it up mix up the icing sugar with the juice of a lemon and drizzle over the top. Scatter liberally with brightly coloured sprinkles for a firework