Anyone want a little giggle-I’ve found a cake book from the 1970’s

[retainertrainer]

I’ve been sorting out my mum’s cupboards and came across the woman’s weekly birthday cake special. I’m going to take my inspiration from it for all family birthdays in the future.

Who knew you could make such masterpieces out of buttercream!

Cool! I'm going to make one for my next dinner party.

It will definitely be a talking point!

My mum had the 1982 Be-ro recipe book. When I moved out a few years ago I took handwritten copies of their Victoria sponge, buttercream and banana tea bread. I'm tempted to buy the latest edition to see how it compares!

Anyone remember that awful late night cooking program aimed at students heavy drug users called 'Get Stuffed'?

Lots of screaming and fuss to make beans on toast. Loved it!

I've got the same book as Nina has just posted a photo of.

Re cheese and pineapple on sticks - it takes bloody ages to cut up the cheese, that's why you don't see them any more! I did one for a seventies-themed thing once and it took way longer than I expected.

If I see one on a buffet, I always take some though!

namechange4000, I have the 1968 version of that from my mum. I love it!

I used to collect old cookbooks and booklets - I have tons of them, including the Be-ro. One of my oldest books is Cassel's Shilling Cookery from 1892, the ads in the front are awesome!

I have the Hamlyn New Cookbook from upthread, (or I had until my Mam 'borrowed' it). it has the best rock cake recipe in the world, with cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. I've not tasted a rock cake that even comes close.

My favourite, tho' was published by the Hong Kong Gas Co. in the 50's. It has recipes from all over the world in English and Chinese and the illustrations are pretty lurid.

Here's the Stork book, best for fruit cake, a couple of mouthwatering recipes from between the wars and some more invalid cookery. It's a wonder anyone ever got better!

I taught myself to cook in the Seventies from Marguerite Patten's Step by Step Cookery. It's dated now, but still basically sound.

aviator I think they went to school together. I know she was a life long friend of my aunts. I didn’t know who she was the first time I met her. My mum told me afterwards then I met her again several times. She used to go and stay with my aunt. She was delighted that I had one of her books and that I enjoyed cooking.

I didn’t know until I was an adult but I also knew Robert Carrier as a child. I was talking about him in the late ‘70’s and mum started laughing and said you used to know him. We lived in part of an old house and she reminded me about the Afghan hounds. He used to come and visit the owner and the garden was huge so he would let the dogs off and I would play with them. I remembered him straight away then. I didn’t realise at the time that he was quite famous. He was on TV in the 70’s and I still have the recipe cards from then.
I’m loving all the reminiscing on this thread.
I made that basket cake several times for family and friends birthdays. I got quite good at basket work.
I also have the Hamlyn All Colour book. It was the first cookbook I bought when I was married. Ah the coffee polka dots I remember them well. Did it have a recipe for Parkin? It won’t fit in my cookbook bookcase so I will have to hunt it out. Did any one make the tuna bake from it?h It was my stand by quick recipe for my kids DS1&2. DS 3 was veggie.

My best friend made a ‘70’s buffet for her DH 60th birthday. It went down a storm and we had the pineapple cheese hedgehogs. Her DGD age 15 thought we were quite mad.

Yes,to the rock cake recipe my boys won prizes every year in the Men’s rock bun contest at the village show. One entered the open class and came second beating our neighbour who was most miffed as he was only 12. She is a good baker and it didn’t go down well.

The current Be-Ro cookbook appears to be the princely sum of £2.99 inc postage and is the 41st edition.

I've just ordered one It should be here at some point over the next week.

If you go to the Be-Ro home page, there is a link at the bottom to some cooking basics and a few recipes.

I received the 50th anniversary dairy cookbook from the milkman this morning thanks to this thread. I think I might treat myself to a new Be-Ro book too, my current one is about 10 years old and dog-eared.

Can you order the Be-ro book online properly now, my last one I had to send off a cheque or postal order plus stamped addressed envelope which seemed quaint even 10 years ago.

I've a 1940s cookery book. My favourite is "Mock Duck"

Calls for boiled lentils. Heat vegetable stock. Form boiled lentils into a duck shape. Pour stock over. Serve.

Is there other mock poultry?

I seem to remember mock turtle soup from my childhood

The clown cakes are scarey

I have a copy of the Hamlyn all colour cookbook (scribbled on by a very young me) and some of the recipes would make you blanch. Let's just say no one thought twice about racist biscuits......

What a great thread.

I used to spend ages looking through my Mum's Dairy Cook Book as a little girl.

I've still got my old Sally Cook Book. It's particularly special to me, as my professional-chef-Uncle and I spent a whole day together making about five of the recipes from that book, to be proudly presented to my parents and grandma that evening. I remember making peanut brittle.

He died in his forties, and I think of him every time I glance at that book on the shelf.

I always thought that part of the reason for the lurid cake colors was that photography wasn't as good, so contrasting colors were used to show the piping. I don't remember RL cakes being quite so startling.

Yes it is totally to do with photography. I read an article once about all the non food things they used to create something that looked like food, and that they could photograph under the lights.

Also the lights dried food up or melted it so they sprayed it with glycerin to make it look shinier.

@Bowerbird5 great posts! Loved reading about the Men's rock bun competition!!

I love parkin - hence my username - and my mum had the Hamlyn cook book but I can't remember whether there was a parkin recipe in it. I usually use James Martin's recipe - as he's from Yorkshire I thought he must know what he's on about. I usually make it for bonfire night - a few days in advance.

Love this thread.

I got an old cook book from a charity shop that had been taken in from a house clearance after a lady passed away, it contained the ladies whole life in it through letters and bits of paper she'd used as book marks, it was lovely in a way to read correspondence between her and friends and family and little notes she'd written about things.

@Bowerbird5...and Robert Carrier too? Just....WOW!