Old fashioned cakes and other bakery items.

[PamperMoose]

I love cakes but I find a lot of cakes now are crammed full of other sweet items like biscuits or covered in them. It’s a bit much for me.

It made me wonder what old fashioned cakes, pastries and savoury bakery items that are hard to find now.

I miss really good gingerbread men. I know that they’re still available if not so readily, but they aren’t as gingery as they used to be. And what’s happened to cream horns.

My Mother used to love something called Paris buns. They’re rather like a scone scattering with sugar nibs. Are those still around?

What old fashioned bakery items do you miss?

@Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain yes I think it was (it's years ago now) they did doughnuts with rose jam in.

Yes thats my point. Wrong uns on that side of the river as usual.

Raspberry buns, the first thing I made at school.

When I was growing up there used to be a small bakery chain called Burton's (I was very confused when I got to uni and found it as a clothing shop).
But they sold gingerbread teddy bears, with the legs entirely covered in (plain) chocolate and with red bow ties, which were fantastic. They also had something dm called "Jap Cakes" in chocolate or coffee which occasionally she used to buy one for her and df to share. I used to offer to cut it in half for them. I'm not sure if they noticed that neither got a full half. 🤣

There was another local shop that used to sell cream drops. They were a very light sweet bun with cream and a dab of raspberry jam in the middle. I had one once when dm was buying bread from there and they dropped one they were serving on the floor and gave it to me (to dm's horror!).

We almost never had brought cakes though.

Complete wrong uns.

They will have been paczki. Very delicious!

You've reminded me I haven't made tiffin for years, I need to go and look for my recipe now (I think it was from the alternative mums website nm!)

Thompson's next to Streatham hill is awesome

I used to love a Tottenham cake from greggs

OMG you mentioned run truffles!! I thought I was the only one that knew about them, I haven’t seen them in years, my mum used to buy us one every Friday after school as a treat. No one else ever seems to have heard of them. I Can’t find them anywhere 🙁

@JamesPringle I love gypsy tart too - I'm in Kent and you can buy Kentish gypsy tarts in a two pack from both Morrisons and Asda - so sweet, so delicious!

We have something in Dublin called Gur cake (or Chester cake) made from leftover cake too en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gur_cake

Listen, I've no skin in the game; I'm not a born Londoner, and I live nearish to Tottenham, but not that near – my local Greggs don't have them.

A selection of proper old fashioned cream cakes used to be a Saturday tea time treat, came in a white box usually a chocolate eclair, a cream slice, a heart shaped one (can't think what it was called) and a cream horn, occasionally a long doughnut split and filled with cream or a custard tart. Also used to buy a fruit pie for after Sunday dinner.

None of them were as sickly or overpoweringly sweet as things are today which taste artificial or chemical to me.

I do miss the old fashioned bakery goods, all of them.

Here's a recipe for Russian cake grantsbakery.co.uk/blogs/posts/russian-cake-recipe

You need to make a pilgrimage to Fife and visit a branch of Fisher and Donaldson, they have a huge range of old fashioned favourites. ( not cheap mind you).
I would like the option of an afternoon tea including things like buttered gingerbread or tea loaf, shortbread, rock buns, jam tarts, coffee and walnut cake, Madeira cake etc rather than macarons and overly fancy pastries. I hate buttercream, too sugary!

I make a seed loaf cake with caraway seeds, bloody lovely and so easy!

Speaking of which, does anyone('s Mum) have a light fruit cake recipe that has a dissolved milk and brown sugar crust on the top (went quite sparkly when baked)? It was also lemony within the cake - probably peel or zest.
My Aunt made one most weeks, it was quite easy but I can't remember/get it right. It's a bit like farmhouse cake, but not quite it.

A great big imperfect looking squidgy vanilla slice from the local bakery we used to go to when I was a child. Nice neat ones from Tesco are not the same

Seedy cakes! how could I have forgotten these little delights, caraway and grated orange peel, the kitchen fragrant, elderly gentleman next door a happy recipient,
my OH bought 2x12 cake tins as one clearly wasn’t enough, they are moreish
I made a whole 2lb loaftin size but somehow it wasn’t the same taste or sensation
as tiny cakes. My OH called them ‘samples’

This is a happy thread OP, thanks - (apart from the nostalgic cravings which you have inspired)

Cherry buns. Cherries inside and halve icing with a cherry on top.

I want a fairy cake now. Small and neat with icing and sprinkles on.

Melting moments, coconut cake, cream horns, Swiss rolls. Proper Battenberg. I remember something called coffee kisses. Small dome shaped biscuits with coffee filling.

Proper treacle tart and Eccles cakes. It's so hard to find things without palm oil or that aren't too sweet. I am however liking M&S easter biscuits.

Betty's tearooms do very good old fashioned cakes - and they deliver nationwide

@BrieAndChilli good macaroons are available in most supermarkets in the GF aisle - they are naturally GF. I think I normally buy the mrs crimble ones. delish

the heart shaped one was called a ‘Crisp’ made from two Palmiers,
crispy and crunchy, sticky and delicious

I agree with pp about afternoon tea. I avoid going out for one because they are often full of “fashionable” items that I don’t want to eat! I really don’t want a tiny burger (how dare they!) or bloody candy floss, or even brightly coloured macarons thank you!!
I want crumpets or drop scones, Victoria sponge, fruit cake, and a selection of traditional biscuits like shortcake.