Derbyshire's Thor cake: Little-known easy-to-bake treat could be the perfect bonfire night snack

A simple baked oaty cake that has a strong resemblence to flapjack could be the perfect Bonfire Night treat to keep the kids happy this November. Thor cake, sometimes known as Wirksworth Thor cake is a Derbyshire delicacy that is traditionally served on Guy Fawkes Night each year and has a chewy texture with a splash of ginger.

It's also known to some as Thar cake - all we know is that it's dead simple and brings plenty of smiles during the midst of chillier autumn weather. If you do a lot of baking at home then you'll likely only need one or two extra ingredients and, if you're particularly well-stocked, you might be ready go after reading this.

It only takes around 10 minutes to prepare and it can all be done with just three bowls/pans, meaning you won't spend your afternoon scrubbing away at a succession of filthy and sticky pots and pans. For the Thor cake, you'll need an oven, a square brownie/baking tray, a large bowl and utensils - and around 45 minutes to spare.

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you'll need to make the Thor cake - many of which could be lying around the kitchen already:

• 200g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
• 125g black treacle
• 100g clear honey
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 250g oatmeal
• 250g plain flour
• 150g demerara sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 100g candied peel, chopped
• 1 tsp ground ginger

Method

Start by preheating the oven at 180C - or 160C for fan ovens and gas mark four if it is a gas oven. Get your square baking tin (any size will work, just make sure it isn't obscenely large or small) and line it with baking paper.

Seperately in a small pan, gradually melt the butter, black treacle, honey and vanilla paste over a medium/low heat. Once it's all melted, stirred and mixed, set the pan aside to cool.

In a large bowl, mix the remaining ingredients and a pinch of salt before combining the cool buttery mixture to the dry ingredients. At this point, you're almost there - just put it in the brownie tin and spread it evenly with a spatula or a pallet knife before baking for 20-25 minutes.

You'll be met with what seems to be a slightly gothic flapjack. Just let it cool and you've made yourself a delightful sweet treat to keep you entertained on what will likely be a noisy Bonfire Night.