I had never tried this cake before until we went to a friend's birthday party and having tasted it I thought it was delicious, moist, sticky, spicy and slightly nutty from the porridge oats.
I had heard it is traditionally baked for bonfire night and decided to try baking it myself using the recipe from my trusty Mary Berry's Baking Bible.
I have to say I was slightly disappointed with the result as the cake was dry and crumbly rather than moist and sticky BUT I didn't do as Mary instructed and leave the cake wrapped up for a week before eating so that may have something to do with it!
I also baked the cake in a smaller tin than the recipe stated and think I should have took it out of the oven sooner, so it was probably overbaked.
For these reasons I will give the recipe a chance and bake the parkin again next year, and next time I'll use the correct sized tin AND bake it a week before bonfire night to let the cake become moist and sticky!
