March 23, 2006 - 6:04pm
English Gingerbread
A co-worker is engaged to a Brit and she is very fond of a Gingerbread
they have there. To have it shipped here is quite expensive and with further
research she found a recipe. It calls for some ingredients we're not familiar
with : muscovado sugar and golden syrup.
Is the golden syrup like light corn syrup?
Thanks all
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You can probably find both the muscovado sugar and Lyle's Golden Syrup from a US supplier online. The viscosity of Lyle's and light corn syrup may be similar, but I am sure the taste of the gingerbread would not be the same.
I'm not sure if muscovado sugar and turbinado sugar are the same or similar, but it might be okay to subsitute one for the other. Maybe someone else knows the answer to this?
You have a dominant flavour of ginger and I expect there is some molasses in it, also a strong flavour, one would not miss the sugar being other than Muscavardo. It's just that that is the "best" brown
sugar in UK.......and yes you could use corn syrup instead of the golden syrup.
Ginger bread is very easy to make, but is also best made a few days before required to blend and mature the flavours......qahtan
Just a couple more questions, if I may.
What is preserved stem ginger? I'm familiar with pickled ginger,
as for sushi. Crystalized ginger and of course fresh ginger.
Could you please describe Parkin?
The recipe I use for Parkin has oatmeal in it - is that more or less traditional?
Growing up in the American South, we had gingerbread a lot and always with warm lemon sauce. It has ground ginger, molasses, and maybe brown sugar in it and probably doesn't bear too much resemblance to English gingerbread, but we still love it.
Yes Parkin has fine oatmeal in it. some where I have a good recipe fore it if you would like it......
HelenD where in the west country are you from.. I lived in East Budleigh, near Exmouth for a while.. well it's not really near Exmouth but that's probably the biggest place near it. qahtan;-)))
Traditional Oatmeal Parkin
Real oatmeal parkin is unbeatable, but do make sure you leave it at least a week before eating – that way it will become much more moist and sticky than when it was first cooked. Originally it was kept in proper wooden parkin boxes, but nowadays a tin will do instead.
Ingredients
8 oz (225 g) medium oatmeal
4 oz (110 g) self-raising flour
a pinch of salt
7 oz (200 g) dark syrup or golden syrup
1 oz (25 g) black treacle, plus 1 teaspoon
4 oz (110 g) margarine
4 oz (110 g) soft brown sugar
2 level teaspoons ground ginger
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 1, 275°F (140°C).
You will also need an 8 inch (20 cm) square cake tin, lightly greased.
First weigh a saucepan on the scales, and weigh the syrup and treacle into it. Then add the margarine and the sugar to the saucepan and place it over a gentle heat until the margarine has melted down – don't go away and leave it unattended, because for this you don't want it to boil.
Meanwhile, measure the oatmeal, flour and ginger into a mixing bowl, add a pinch of salt, then gradually stir in the warmed syrup mixture till the mixture is all thoroughly blended. Next add the beaten egg, and lastly the milk. Now pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake on the centre shelf of the oven for 1¾-2 hours. Then cool the parkin in the tin for 30 minutes before turning out. Don't worry too much if the parkin sinks slightly in the middle – it sometimes happens in Yorkshire too, I'm told.
This recipe is taken from Delia Smith's Book of Cakes.
Thanks for all your help! I can't wait to try the Gingerbread
and the Parkin recipes!
Teresa..how do you make the warm lemon sauce?
Wow what a small world. The last time I was in Exmouth was about
10 years ago.... A friend lived in St Andrews Rd.
I have lived in Canada over 40 years but I still cook very British.
It is a very nice Parkin and it is better to hide it away for a while.qahtan ;-)))