Select a region
The team at one of Jersey’s top hotels have been creating some hauntingly delicious specials for guests to tuck into while they hear about the ‘Haunting’ of Longueville Manor.
The crop of pumpkins and squash from the onsite Victorian Kitchen Garden should be the perfect accompaniment to the hotel’s very own ghost tale – that of Hoste Nicole who was Bailiff of Jersey and Seigneur of Longueville Manor from 1546 to 1564.
The old Seigneur used to live in one of the manor buildings and acquired the nickname ‘the wicked Seigneur of Longueville’. Over the years he’s been the subject of many ghost tales in which he sends a butcher named Antoine to his death.
Longueville Manor’s Proprietor Malcolm Lewis said: “Longueville Manor is steeped in history and guests are always fascinated to hear about our heritage and tales from the past. This Halloween we’re going all out to embrace the ghoulish season to the delight of our guests.
“We’ll be sharing our ghost stories and residents and diners will be spoilt with fantastic produce from our kitchen garden, it is the perfect place to enjoy a unique Halloween weekend.”
Longueville’s Executive Head Chef Andrew Baird has used the hotel’s pumpkins to create some pumpkin and passion fruit jam for the Halloween weekend and guests will be getting a real autumnal treat with spiced Parkin cake on the menu – a traditional sponge cake saturated in sticky treacle, golden syrup, ground ginger and mixed ground spice.
Andrew Baird said: “Our crop in the Kitchen Garden has been fantastic this year and we always relish the opportunity to create new and exciting treats for our customers.
“Halloween has presented the perfect opportunity for us to combine sweet and spicy flavours in our specials across the Halloween weekend.
“And I have to recommend the Parkin cake, I was born and bred in Yorkshire where we made it every autumn - Halloween just wouldn’t be the same without it.”
The traditional cake from Yorkshire is made with ginger, oatmeal and treacle and Andrew has shared his Halloween recipe so that you can make it at home.
He said: "I was born and bred in Yorkshire and Halloween would not be the same without Parkin. Try this basic recipe and once you have mastered it, you can develop it by adding anything from poached pears to stem ginger, add a vanilla custard for a great autumn desert."
You will need scales, a mixing bowl, loaf tin, measuring spoons, a pan and measuring jug and the following ingredients:
Here's how to make it:
Pre heat your oven to 140C / 120C fan / Gas Mark 1. Grease a loaf tin.
Place the butter, sugar, golden syrup and treacle into a pan and gently heat until the butter has melted, then remove from the heat and place on the side.
Sieve the flour together with the mixed spice and ginger. Place in a bowl and stir in the oatmeal.
Make a well with the dry oatmeal mixture and slowly add the butter and sugar mix.
Beat the egg and add to the mixture with the milk. Lightly mix until it all comes together.
Pour the mixture into the loaf tin.
Place in the pre heated oven for approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven but leave in the tin.
Once cool, cover the Parkin cake with cling film and leave for a minimum of 24 hours. This will allow the cake time to develop a delicious moist and sticky texture.
Remove from the tin and it can be eaten at any time of the day! Enjoy!
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.