This month my Bundt Bakers group was challenged by our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime, to create a Bundt with the theme Secret Garden. I'm not sure if it's what Sue intended but my mind immediately went to one of my all-time favorite books, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It's a book I have read over and over through the years. If you haven't read it, I recommend that you do. The Kindle edition is free on Amazon right now.
It's the story of an expat kid who loses her whole family to an epidemic and must return alone to England from the only home she's ever known in India. Her supposed home country is foreign to her as are the ways of the local people. After finding the secret garden to nurture in her mysterious uncle's estate, Mary grows from a sour-faced, spoiled and finicky child into one with pink cheeks and a wholesome appetite under the care of a kind Yorkshire maid and her down-to-earth brother, Dicken.
In 1999, Amy Colter published The Secret Garden Cookbook, with recipes inspired by Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic book. I must confess that I do not own that book but as I was reading its reviews, parkin was mentioned several times as a particularly traditional Yorkshire treat contained therein. I consulted The Google and found this recipe on BBC Good Food, which I adapted to fit my smaller Bundt pan.
I like to think that Mary took parkin just like this from the big house out to share with Dicken and the wee Robin Red Breast who first showed her where the secret garden was hidden.
Ingredients
1 medium egg
2 tablespoons milk
100g butter, plus extra for greasing the baking pan
1/3 cup or 80ml golden syrup
1/4 cup or 50g soft brown sugar
2 tablespoons treacle (or molasses)
1 cup or 125g flour, plus extra for pan
Slightly rounded 1/2 cup or 50g oatmeal
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Optional: powdered sugar to serve
Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and liberally butter and flour your 2 1/2 to 3-cup mini Bundt pan. (Follow the original recipe for a larger pan. This just happened to be the only pan I own where I am staying right now. Traditionally parkin is baked in a square pan and cut into squares to serve.)
Beat the egg and milk together in a small mixing bowl. Set aside. Mix the flour, oatmeal, ginger, baking soda, baking powder and salt together.
In a small saucepan, gently warm the butter, brown sugar, golden syrup and treacle until the butter is just melted. Remove from the heat and continue to stir until the brown sugar has dissolved.
Add the dry ingredients to the warm butter mixture, followed by the egg and milk. Stir until well combined.
Pour the batter into your prepared Bundt pan.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before turning the parkin out on a wire rack to cool.
The BBC recipe says to wrap it up tightly in parchment paper and foil and to keep it for a few days before eating, as it gets softer and stickier the longer you keep it. I don’t know about that (time will tell!) but I can assure you that even straight out of the pan, it goes quite excellently with a strong cup of Yorkshire Tea, the brand my younger daughter happens to favor.
Enjoy!
Check out all the other Secret Garden recipes the Bundt Bakers are sharing today!
- Almond Lavender Bundt by The Queen of Scones
- Carrot Bundt Cake with Chamomile Orange Icing by Patty's Cake
- Chocolate and Mint Cake by Baking Yummies
- Ginger & Lemon Crackle Courgette Bundt Cake by Baking in Pyjamas
- Elderflower and Lemon Bundt by Jane's Adventure in Dinner
- Lavender & Honey Bundt by Living the Gourmet
- Lavender & Lemon Bundt Cake by I Love Bundt Cakes
- Lavender Lemonade Bundt by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
- Lemon and Rosewater Cake by Palatable Pastime
- Lemon Balm Bundt Cake by Magnolia Days
- Lemon Zucchini Bundt with Sugared Pansies by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Mojito Bundt Cakes by Sew You Think You Can Cook
- Spiced Zucchini Bundt Cake by Making Miracles
- Sweet Chocolate Feel the Beet Cake by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
- Vanilla Rose Bundt with Edible Flowers by Our Good Life
- Yorkshire Parkin Mini Bundt by Food Lust People Love
- Zucchini, Cheddar and Chive Bundt by Cookaholic Wife
#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.
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