Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Holywake Bake Cake


Ginger, long a popular flavouring in British cookery, was just one of the smaller things that we have the Romans to thank for first bringing to our shores. As an ingredient imported into the kingdom, for most people it was not an everyday taste. Thus it was a flavour enjoyed at festivals and feasts - fairings were ginger biscuits, and also popular at social occasions were gingerbreads or parkin.

In the bad old days before telly, any excuse for a bit of time off work, or for a pint or two of strong beer, was an opportunity to be seized (so things haven't changed all that much really). Unfortunately, this meant that less cheerful get-togethers, for reasons such as a public hanging or burning, were also a chance for a holiday, a slice of cake and a jug of ale. 'Holywake' is a 17th century word (in use in the Cotswolds) for 'bonfire'; more specifically meaning a bonfire lit to extinguish heretics. Holywake Bake was, according to June Lewis in 'The Cotswold Cook Book', a cake cooked and sold at such unholy gatherings. To my mind, the inclusion of oatmeal in this recipe makes it a Northern treat, as oats grow best in the Borders counties and Scotland. Oatmeal is a key ingredient in parkin (a type of gingerbread cake), which itself has an association with November the 5th. I decided to have a go at baking Holywake Bake Cake because I thought it interesting to find a bonfire story alternative to the well-known tale commemorated with thanksgiving explosions at this time of year. Sorry not to come up with something a little more cheery!

175g self-raising flour
50g fine oatmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda
1 level tablespoon ground ginger
110g raisins (if liked)
2 tablespoons of golden syrup
2 tablespoons of black treacle
75g unsalted butter
75g brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
(also on June's ingredients list was 1/4 pint of milk, but this was omitted from the method - add a little milk to the mixture if you think it looks dry)

1. Preheat oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3. Grease and line a 10" by 7" tin.
2. In a large bowl stir together the flour, oatmeal, ginger, raisins (I excluded these) and bicarbonate of soda.
3. Put the syrup, treacle, butter and sugar into a small saucepan and melt over a low heat. Stir well to blend.
4. As soon as the above mixture has melted, pour into the dry ingredients and mix.
5. Add the egg and beat well. Add some milk now if you think it necessary - I didn't because I thought the mix looked OK, but the resulting cake could perhaps have benefited from it.
6. Pour into prepared tin and pop in the oven. Cake should take about an hour to bake.
7. Allow to cool in the tin; then turn out and cut into (12ish) squares.


I followed June's suggestion and made this a few days ahead of November the 5th; the cake would grow moist and sticky if it were to be left in a tin for a short time. This is usually sound advice with gingerbreads, but this time round I didn't find that the cake improved any. In fact I was a little disappointed by it. Maybe that errant 1/4 pint of milk would have made all the difference, although I have found plenty of other gingerbread recipes that don't call for any extra moisture. Best consumed with a large mug of something wet and warming.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

SUPERB !!! SUPERB !!! Thanks for your culinary blog, so delicious !

Anonymous said...

Anna

Love your site, thank you for finding and testing all these lovely recipes.

This Holywake Bake Cake is almost identical to a yorkshire Parkin recipe I found in Delia Smith, which was also dry and very disappointing.

So, I asked a yorkshirewoman I know to give me her Parkin recipe, which was very different - far more liquid, no milk or egg, the mixture was almost sloshing in the tin when I put it in the oven. It came out mouthwateringly soft and moist.

10 oz plain flour (sifted)
8 oz medium oatmeal
8 oz caster sugar
1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
2 teaspoons ginger powder

8 oz marg
9 fluid oz cold water
10 oz golden syrup + 3 oz black treacle, or 13oz dark treacle if you can get it
Melt marg/water/treacles together in saucepan, then add to dry ingredients. Pour into a flat tin and bake for 1-1.5 hours at 160celsius. Leave to cool for 30 mins before cutting into squares to lift out of tin.

Hope this helps people.

Best wishes for your impending motherhood!

Louise

AnnaW said...

Hi Louise,

I am keen to try out your recipe. It does sounds like it contains a lot of fluid, but if the end result is a deliciously moist and sticky cake, then it sounds good to me.

Anna

Anonymous said...

I had some " Cotswold Cake" at an English Tea house in Washington, New Jersey. It was so delicious!
It was very thick and heavy and was a white cake. Does anyone have the receipe for COTSWOLD CAKE" "
Thank you.

AnnaW said...

Hi Kathy,

I have not heard of Cotswold Cake, cut I returned to the Cotswold Cook Book to see if it could enlighten me. In here there is a recipe for a Cotswold Cake, and the recipe is for a kind of lardy cake - that it to say a sweet dough based caked, made with lard and dried fruits. Does this sound like the cake you had? Or, by white cake do you mean a sponge cake? I can email you the recipe if you like - reply to bakingforbritain@hotmai.co.uk

Rachael said...

Hi Anna,

This is regarding Kathy's question about Cotswold Cake. First, this is quite a coincidence. I was just online searching for Cotswold Cake as I ate it at most likely the same tea room (also a bookshop)in Washington NJ about twelve years ago! I often think of that cake and how delicious it was. It was a pound type cake with a really nice sweet white icing if I remember correctly. I asked the proprietor, AmyJo, for the recipe back then but as it was a family recipe, she wasn't able to share it. Anyway, if you have a pound cake recipe(I think it is called Madiera in Ireland and perhaps UK also) as well as a nice white icing, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

Reveal code said...

With the food 52 coupon, you can save on your next purchase of Holywake Bake Cake. This delicious cake is perfect for any occasion, and with the coupon code.

charloteequeen said...

"HolyWake-Bake-Cake is nothing short of a culinary masterpiece! The flavors are a symphony for the taste buds, with each bite delivering an unforgettable experience. The cake's moist, tender crumb is a testament to the skill and passion that went into its creation. It's not just a cake; it's a work of art, a celebration of flavor and texture that leaves you craving more. From the first bite to the last, it's a journey of delight that transcends the ordinary. Bravo to the genius behind this culinary marvel!" 🍰👏 #HolyWakeBakeCake #CulinaryPerfection

reckless driving lawyer Hunterdon County