Lancashire Parkin
Medium oatmeal, golden syrup and hard margarine come together in this vegetarian — 65 minutes, 7 steps, and the kind of result worth repeating. You'll find the full ingredient list (with a scaler to change the servings), 7 steps of method, substitutions, and ideas for what to serve alongside.
You'll mainly reach for oven and saucepan. At medium difficulty across 7 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, it's meat-free.
What you'll need
Shopping list (3)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
🔁 Unit converter
How to make it
- Preheat the oven to 160 C (325 F) and grease and line a 20 cm square baking tin with baking parchment.
- In a large bowl, mix together the self-raising flour, oatmeal, caster sugar, ground ginger and bicarbonate of soda.
- Gently warm the hard margarine and golden syrup together in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until the margarine has just melted, then remove from the heat and let it cool slightly.
- Beat the egg with the milk, then pour the warm syrup mixture and the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until you have a smooth, thick, pourable batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for about 50 to 60 minutes, until the parkin is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Leave the parkin to cool completely in the tin, then turn out, wrap in greaseproof paper and store in an airtight tin for 3 to 5 days so it turns moist and sticky.
- Cut into squares to serve.
You'll use: Oven · Saucepan · Pan
Ingredient substitutions
- Self-raising Flour
- 1 cup plain flour + 1½ tsp baking powder + ¼ tsp salt
- Milk
- any unsweetened plant milk · ½ cup evaporated milk + ½ cup water
Tips & common questions
How long does Lancashire Parkin take to make?
About 65 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 7 steps and 9 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of self-raising flour?
Try 1 cup plain flour + 1½ tsp baking powder + ¼ tsp salt. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Lancashire Parkin vegetarian?
Its ingredients contain no meat or fish, so it's suitable for vegetarians. Check any cheeses for animal rennet if that matters to you.
Related recipes
Lancashire Parkin is an original recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Lancashire Parkin 5022.JPG by Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top — how we source recipes.