Moggy Cake

Nov 6, 2026 · By VanillaGoods

Baking Cakes cupcakes Easy

Moggy is a sticky, dark Yorkshire tray cake made with golden syrup, black treacle and plenty of ground ginger, with a little oatmeal in the batter. It is lighter and more cake-like than parkin and grows stickier when wrapped and kept for a day or two. Makes 16 pieces in about 3 hr 15 min.

Prep 15 min

Cook 50 min

Cooling 1 hr 20 min

Total 3 hr 15 min

Yield 16 pieces

Ingredients

Adjust yield

pieces

¼ cup (60 g)unsalted butter
1 ½ oz (40 g)lard
⅓ cup (75 g)dark brown sugar
½ cup (150 g)golden syrup
2 ½ tbsp (50 g)black treacle, or molasses
1 ¾ cups (225 g)all-purpose flour
½ cup (50 g)fine oatmeal, or rolled oats ground fine
1 tbsp (8 g)ground ginger, about 1 tbsp
¼ oz (2 g)mixed spice, about 1 tsp
¾ tsp (4 g)baking soda, about 3/4 tsp
1 pinchfine salt
1 (50 g)egg, large, beaten
⅔ cup (150 ml)whole milk, room temperature

Fresh ingredient guides

GingerHow to pick, season & nutrition · 4 kcal per 5 g

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Instructions

Heat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Grease the square pan and line it with parchment.
Put the unsalted butter, lard, dark brown sugar, golden syrup and black treacle in a saucepan and warm over low heat, stirring, until melted and smooth, 3 to 4 minutes; do not let it boil. Cool for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, fine oatmeal, ground ginger, mixed spice, baking soda and fine salt.
Pour the warm syrup mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until combined; the mixture will be very stiff.
Whisk the beaten egg into the whole milk, then add it gradually, stirring, until the batter is smooth, glossy and thick but pourable.
Pour into the pan and bake until risen, dark golden-brown, springy when pressed and a skewer pushed into the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes.
Cool in the pan 15 minutes, then lift out and, while still warm, wrap the cake in parchment and foil. Leave until completely cool, about 1 hour, before cutting into 16 squares; for the stickiest texture, keep it wrapped 1 to 2 days first.

Tips

Weigh the golden syrup and treacle straight into the saucepan on the scale to avoid sticky measuring spoons.
Do not open the oven in the first 35 minutes, or the center may sink.
Serve squares spread with butter at teatime, or warm with custard or stewed rhubarb as a pudding.
Good with yorkshire-style strong black tea.

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Recipe FAQ

How long does it take to make moggy cake?

Plan on 15 minutes of prep and 50 minutes of cooking, plus 2 hours 10 minutes to rise and rest. The recipe makes 16 pieces.

How should I store moggy cake?

Keep wrapped at room temperature up to 1 week; it gets stickier each day. Freeze up to 2 months.

Can I make moggy cake ahead?

It is at its best the day it is made; prepare it a few hours before serving.

Moggy (or moggie) is a Yorkshire ginger cake made with golden syrup or treacle and a little oatmeal, recorded in Yorkshire sources from the 1870s and a lighter cousin of parkin. Serve it with yorkshire-style strong black tea.

Variations

All-butter moggy: replace the lard with 40 g (3 tbsp) more unsalted butter; bake time unchanged.
Stem-ginger moggy: fold 50 g (1/3 cup) finely chopped stem ginger in syrup into the batter at the end; bake time unchanged.
Orange-zest version: add 2 tsp (4 g) finely grated orange zest to the dry ingredients; bake time unchanged.
Loaf moggy: bake in a lined 9 x 5-inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan for 55 to 65 minutes.

Estimated · per serving

Nutrition

Per serving = 1 of 16 servings this recipe makes.

173 Calories / serving

6.4g Fat

26.4g Carbs

2.3g Protein

15.0g Sugar

Whole recipe (16 servings): ~2768 cal · 102g fat · 422g carbs · 37g protein · 240g sugar

Estimated values per serving, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not verified Nutrition Facts; actual values vary with brands, measurements, and preparation.