Parkin

Cooking the Jewish Way, p. 166

8 oz. [1 ¾ cup] flour

8 oz. [1 ¾ cup] porridge oats

4 oz. [2/3 c.] sugar

2 oz. butter or margarine

1 egg

8 oz. [2/3 c.] golden syrup

½ teaspoon bicarbonate soda [baking soda]

Milk

Sieve flour and mix thoroughly with the oats, and add sugar. 

Mairzy doats!

Over gentle heat in a saucepan, melt the syrup and fat and add well beaten egg. 

I've noticed that older recipes often refer to butter as "fat." At least they tell it like it is.

Stir well and add to the flour mixture. Dissolve bicarbonate soda in a little milk and add. 

I'm sure there's some fancy cooking reason for doing this that's beyond me.

If mixture is too dry a little more milk may be added if necessary. Beat mixture thoroughly for a few minutes. Turn into greased shallow tin and bake in rather hot oven for about 1 hour. 

The "greased" part is very important here.

When cold, cut into pieces. 

Use a heavy-duty knife to cut - this stuff is a beast!

My Rating: 4/5 "It's like a really tall cookie or a really hard cake. It's a bit dry, although the syrup does something to mitigate that. When I took this to a friend's birthday party people were dipping it in milk, which I thought was smart. I've never had anything quite like this!"