Market Stall · Bonfire Night Gingerbread
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Old court records show a Yorkshirewoman was hauled up in 1728 for stealing oatmeal to bake this cake — proof it's been a treasured treat for centuries.
Oatmeal, black treacle, dark sugar and ginger are baked into a dense, sticky cake, then left to mature for a few days so it turns even softer and more treacle-dark. Market stalls in Leeds and across Yorkshire sell it wrapped in squares every autumn, especially around Bonfire Night.
Why it's made this way: It grew out of working-class kitchens where oats and treacle were cheap, everyday staples, and it became tied to 5 November celebrations across the north of England.
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