1930’s Ginger Sponge Parkin – A lovely old recipe from the early BeRo recipe books. Serve this as a cake, or as a pudding with custard or cream
A Retro Recipe for a Ginger Sponge Cake Pudding
1930’s Ginger Sponge Parkin is a fabulous recipe, that first featured in the earliest BeRo cookbooks, from the 1920’s and 1930’s.
It’s a recipe that I know well, as both my grandmother and mother used to bake this light ginger sponge cake regularly.
I personally wouldn’t call it a Parkin, although the original name in the BeRo books calls it BeRo Sponge Parkin.
I always associate a parkin with a particular type of ginger cake that has oatmeal in it; but, what’s in a name – it’s a ginger cake, parkin or not!
Whatever the name, it is a wonderfully light sponge cake with a real ginger kick, and it makes a fabulous pudding when served with custard.
Nanny used to serve this 1930’s Ginger Sponge Parkin in big slabs, as she used to bake it in a roasting tin.
She probably doubled the recipe, as I remember there was at least 14 to 16 large squares, which she used to serve on an old Blue Willow plate.
A photo of the original recipe is shared below, as the recipe in my recipe card was tweaked a wee bit.
This was served as a hot pudding last time I made it, after Sunday Lunch, and it went down a storm with our dinner guest, as well as my husband.
Serve this as a hot pudding with custard, cream, creme fraiche or with ice cream for that hot and cold sensation.
It’s equally as good as part of a Sunday Tea Tray, Elevenses , High Tea, or for the school and office lunch box.
However you serve it, I hope you all enjoy this lovely retro recipe. and please do let me know in the comments below if you make it, Karen
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More BeRo Recipes
- Be-Ro Banana and Walnut Tea Bread
- Old-Fashioned “Tea Room” Custard Tarts
- Old-Fashioned Milk Chocolate Cake
Notes:
- Can be baked in a large loaf tin, or two loaf tins.
- Add extra ground ginger for a fiery extra ginger kick.
- Keeps for up to 2 weeks in an airtight tin.
- Serve it buttered, or warm with custard for a pudding.
Recipe for 1930’s Ginger Sponge Parkin
1930's Ginger Sponge Parkin
1930's Ginger Sponge Parkin is a fabulous recipe, that first featured in the earliest BeRo cookbooks, from the 1920's and 1930's.
It's a recipe that I know well, as both my grandmother and mother used to bake this light ginger sponge cake regularly.
I personally wouldn't call it a Parkin, although the original name in the BeRo books calls it BeRo Sponge Parkin.
I always associate a parkin with a particular type of ginger cake that has oatmeal in it; but, what's in a name - it's a ginger cake, parkin or not!
Whatever the name, it is a wonderfully light sponge cake with a real ginger kick, and it makes a fabulous pudding when served with custard.
Nanny used to serve this 1930's Ginger Sponge Parkin in big slabs, as she used to bake it in a roasting tin.
She probably doubled the recipe, as I remember there was at least 14 to 16 large squares, which she used to serve on an old Blue Willow plate.
This was served as a hot pudding last time I made it, after Sunday Lunch, and it went down a storm with our dinner guest, as well as my husband.
Serve this as a hot pudding with custard, cream, creme fraiche or with ice cream for that hot and cold sensation.
It's equally as good as part of a Sunday Tea Tray, Elevenses , High Tea, or for the school and office lunch box.
Ingredients
- 450g Self Raising Flour
- Pinch of salt
- 2 heaped teaspoons ground ginger
- 225g caster sugar
- 50g butter
- 225g black treacle
- 1 egg beaten with 140mls milk
Instructions
- Mix the flour, salt, ground ginger and caster sugar together in a mixing bowl.
- Heat the butter and black treacle together, in a saucepan or in the microwave - do NOT boil.
- Pour the black trteacle mixture into the dry ingredients, mix together, adding the egg and milk mixture to the batter gradually.
- Mix thoroughly.
- Pour into a greased, shallow baking tray - I used a 9" x 9" square tin (22cm x 22cm) My grandmother used to use a roastig tin.
- Bake at 180C/375F/Gas mark 4 for 1 hour to an hour and a half.
- Remove from the oven and when cool, cut into squares.
Notes
Can be baked in a large loaf tin, or two loaf tins.
Add extra ground ginger for a fiery extra ginger kick.
Keeps for up to 2 weeks in an airtight tin.
Serve it buttered, or warm with custard for a pudding.
Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 248Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 25mgSodium 497mgCarbohydrates 47gFiber 1gSugar 19gProtein 5g
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Judith Simpson says
Hello, I was interested by your updated recipe. I wondered if you had taken into account that the book was an English book and eggs in the 1930s in the UK we’re much smaller than they are now so a little less milk might be needed nowadays Thank you for sharing the recipe, my old book got spoilt and this recipe isn’t in the 40th edition. I’m looking forward to trying it for our Sunday dinner.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Hello Judith
I didn’t have to adjust the milk as there is quite a lot of flour in this recipe, and although my eggs were medium in size, they weren’t very large I thought.
When I last made this, the quantities worked!
It is a loose cake batter but rises up and makes a lovely light ginger sponge albeit rich with treacle.
Karen