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!

@SheSnapsThenSheFarts

I have a copy of the Hamlyn all colour cookbook ... Let's just say no one thought twice about racist biscuits......

I can't find any racist biscuits in my copy. What am I missing?

@FreezerBird mine has Golliwog biscuits, in the kids recipes section

My DGM used to work in Glyn Christian's bistro but I never met him. He used to nick her recipes and do them on telly!

SheSnapsThenSheFarts

Ah, not in mine. Different edition, maybe.

@meeton0ledge www.be-ro.co.uk yes available online. I think I'm going to get my mum, sister plus myself one!!

Sorry @Meet0nTheledge

I think I'l treat myself to a new one then cannot. It will be my third I think, or maybe fourth, I'm feeling old now!

Oh crikey. I have those recipe cards with a blue band in a blue box. I inherited them from my grandmother. They date to 1967.

Thet are a bit battered now though.

Go for it meet. It's a bargain treat.

Ha ha! I had forgotten about those. Was it the ones you collect? They were still going in the late seventies.

Aviator I was washing up this morning and I was thinking about my aunt, sadly passed away now. Then I remembered the other lady was Elizabeth Craig. Not as well known now but a great cook in her time. I also have one of her cookbooks.My aunt went to school in Edinburgh and I think that is where she knew E. Craig from and later on she joined the Wrens and after travelling abroad she was in London and I think that is where she meet M. Patten. She was working in Whitehall in the last year of the war.

Parkin we also made it for bonfire night. I had unexpected visitors today but I am keen to get it out to see if it was that book.

My book didn’t have golliwogs in and actually I once saw some in a shop in Hexham and a black family were looking in the window and laughing. I stopped to see what was causing such amusement and it was the family of golliwogs. I was surprised they weren’t offend but they weren’t at all and we had a good conversation about them. They were an American family and I enjoyed meeting them.
I don’t have that recipe in mine either.
This is a very interesting thread. I love the story about the lady and her letters.

I have "Complete Cookery" by Lillian Mattingly, inherited from my granny. The best bits are the meal plans at the back. There's an Annabel Karmel-esque baby and toddler meal schedule, suggested foods for invalids, children's party menu and a spread for a "bridge tea" with your friends. The party ones include lots of handy hosting and decoration tips.

'Invalid food' was quite a thing back then. I had to make a meal for an invalid when I did Food and Nutrition O level (not too much fibre or anything that causes wind). Nobody talks about it now, I suppose you just eat what you fancy when you're not feeling well.

I think I must have had the book in the op as I made the swimming pool cake, also one with a Barbie stuck in a pudding basin cake and covered with marshmallows. I also made a bonfire cake from a Cadbury cake book.

I still have my Hamlyn All-Colour Cook Book. The chicken with orange and tarragon is divine.

These are from 1969. All recipes contributed by the staff at King’s College Hospital, London. “More Food for Kings” is my favourite, endorsed by the grubby state of the cover!

I have More Food for Kings as well.
My favourite book to actually cook from though is an old Delia Smith cook book. Recipes are pretty foolproof.

Looking after invalids was a big thing. I think it was because it was before antibiotics when good nursing care could make the difference between life and death. My SIl who is a nurse had to do as part of her training a bit on home nursing, which included invalid cooking and looking after invalids.

My new Be-Ro book has arrived today!

Even looking at it quickly, I can't get over how different it is. No lard in the Melting Moments recipe

Joyce appears to have retired as well as there is no mention of her that I can see but I've only opened the envelope 5 mins ago

Will have a happy browse later on

I have an old-ish Be-ro book. Don't know how old it is, but it's old enough to include recipes featuring a lot of margarine .

Emergency bread got a couple of mentions upthread. That would be a perfect recipe for flour milled in Malta's emergency flour mills which I have a strange fascination for.

My mum has one of her mum's old cookery books. It is from the 1930s and it doesn't have any temperatures for any of the recipes because ovens didn't have proper temperature settings in those days.

She also used to have the cookery cards mentioned upthread. I don't think she's got them any more. She did use them when we were children but they languished for quite a while in a cupboard.

I have an old household management book which has a section on cookery that starts with a stern admonishment to not even attempt these if it is your servants day off.

abacucat

Remember the name of the book by any chance?

No, but I will look.
This thread had made me dig out some of my old cookbooks from the garage and start cooking with them again. One very obvious thing is that the recipes generally use less ingredients than modern ones. So Delia Smiths for Coq Au Vin does not use lots of ingredients, although it does involve a whole bottle of red wine. From memory it is delicious.
I used to use a cookbook a lot called Debretts. Was written by a woman who ran a catering company for rich people. It is full of delicious and pretty easy to make recipes. I am going to make the pecan pie recipe which I also remember as being delicious.
And I have dug out my Harrods making sweets book. Reminds me why there are so many stalls at craft fairs selling fudge. Because it is actually easy to make but has a big mark up.
Yummy.

My mum made me the swimming pool cake!

I was talking about it at work and was searching for a picture!

Thank you for posting.

I got talking with my mum about this thread this week and she's sent me photos of her collection.

The Be-Ro book at the bottom is the 80s one I mentioned upthread. The top two belonged to her mother.