Hogweed Seed Spiced Parkin – A Vegan Recipe for Bonfire Night
As it is bonfire night tonight I thought it would be a good time to post this recent version of a recipe for hogweed seed spiced cake. This time a variation on the parkin, a traditional autumn spiced cake that has become closely associated with bonfire night on the 5th November.
Variations are found in Yorkshire & Lancashire & elsewhere. The recipe is similar to that for ginger loaf, but distinguished by the use of oats & therefore associated more with northern England. Some local varieties are distinguished by their use of treacle rather than golden syrup, giving it a more toasted & deeper flavour. In this recipe either is good, as is molasses – though this can be a bit overpowering for some, but preferred by others for its high mineral content.
These were all replacements for honey from the 17th century onwards once sugar, & the byproducts of refining sugar – treacle & molasses, began to be imported from the plantations in the Caribbean.
Unlike other cakes of this type, like parkin with ground ginger, & ginger loaf with candied, fresh or dried ginger of course, but also often with allspice, cinnamon, & nutmeg, the spiced flavour in this cake comes exclusively from the dried seeds of common hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium). This gives it a warming spicy, slightly cardamon-y flavour with a bitter orange rind like edge that combines well with the smoky treacle or molasses.
While I have not come across old recipes that use common hogweed seed, it is an interesting local replacement for the imported spice of ginger that prefers a warmer climate.
I have been making variations of this recipe for many years now. This recipe is a more recent iteration of a vegan version using vegan yoghurt, vegan milk & aquafaba (bean water) to make it more moist. This makes the batter rather more liquid than you might expect, but don’t worry – it cooks slowly into a firm cake. Either of these three would work well on their own, but I prefer the combination.
It also includes oats to make it more in fitting with the traditional parkin recipes for bonfire night. There is still time to bake this in time for bonfire night tonight if your quick & happen to have a store of hogweed seeds to hand, or nearby for picking. Though of course it tastes good anytime of the year, though particularly in the coming colder months.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 200g all-purpose flour, sieved
- 100g porridge oats
- 100g brown sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 120ml molasses or treacle and/or golden syrup
- 100g dairy free yogurt
- 150ml dairy-free milk like oat milk
- 80ml aquafaba (water from tinned pulses, like chickpeas)
- 60ml neutral oil (sunflower or rapeseed)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 5 tbsp common hogweed seeds
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180c. Line a 23cm x 13cm loaf tin (2lb/900g) with a splash of oil then greaseproof paper.
2. Dry roast the hogweed seeds in a frying pan over a medium heat just until the aroma is first released, then grind in a coffee grinder or pestle & mortar.
3. Mix everything except the flour, milk & aquafaba (bean water) in a large mixing bowl.
4. Pour over the flour, then add the milk & aquafaba, stirring in slowly until there are few lumps. Do not overmix.
5. Pour the mix into the loaf tin. Bake for 40-55 minutes, depending on oven. Check middle is cooked through with a skewer before removing.
6. Leave to cool on a rack for 20 minutes, before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
