Cookery blasts from the past...

[deaconblue]

I've just made rock cakes with the dc- the first baking I ever did way back in about 1978, turns out they were dh's first cooking experience too. What are your first memories of cooking/baking?

Peppermint creams. Not really cooking are they, I can't remember how to make them now but I'm sure it involves icing sugar, mint extract and green food colouring. I used to love them!

Pineapple upside down cake
Coconut pyramids
Chocolate truffles and peppermint creams at Xmas

Choc cornflake cakes with a glacé cherry on top? WTF?

butterfly cakes with buttercream . thought i was delia smith .

I did peppermint creams too, bloody gorgeous, sort of weirdly cold if I remember rightly. We used to make little marzipan fruits for Xmas too

I might have to whip up a batch of peppermint creams

My mum made her peppermint creams with Creme de menthe then let us binge on them!

shoppingbags

I like her style :o

jam tarts! I can remember impatiently waiting for the jam to cool down to below volcanic temperatures.

I can also remember making some gorgeous chewy toffee with condensed milk in it but the recipe is long gone

Weird! Mine was rock cakes too. I have a pic of me, my brother & cousin, Christmas 1977, wearing some dodgy fashion mistake of the time, sans two front teeth, proudly holding my creations. Don't know if the teeth were down to my age or down to the rock cakes .

We called ours space rocks and ds proudly displayed them on a plate with a Lego spaceman clambering over them!

Oh my. Our peppermint creams never looked like this

Might have to add those to my list of homemade gifts I'm going to give this year!

standing on a stool, making butterfly cakes with my Mum. She also made pastry from scratch [which I can still do] . I still prefer mince pies made her way ie glace icing on the top instead of pastry. I can also remember her making the christmas cake which took all afternoon.
I didn't like my Mums cooking, but I absolutely loved her baking. Most of the recipes came from the be ro book.

Fatlazymummy your memories are exactly what I want for DD. (apart from not liking my cooking and my being unable to make adequate pastry)

Jam tarts and scones. I am still a champion 'rubber-inner' when it comes to fat and flour!!

Jam tarts, a fab usborne children's cook book & when I was 13 working my way through delia's 'one is fun' book.

Mmmm, peppermint creams.

Butterfly cakes, cutting the top off the sticking it back on with butter icing.

Pineapple upside down cake with a cherry in each pineapple ring to make it fancy.

Sugar and spice rings :) I still make them now, they are still delicious, and so cheap! Probably why they turned up so often in our house

Sugar and spice rings?? Sound fab how I makey?

Does anyone remember the BeRo baking recipe book with blue and white horizontal stripes on the front. My mum cooked all her cakes with that book and letting me lick the bowl is my first memory.

There is a BeRo website and many people still swear by those recipes.

MoreBeta - yy to the Bero book. My mum got hers as a wedding gift and she gave me one on the morning of my wedding. Still use it a lot.

First baking memory is raspberry buns. I baked every Sunday afternoon almost without fail and the creations were had for afternoon tea before evening church. I'm quite a good baker [and clearly modest emoticon].

rock cakes
butterfly cakes
peppermint creams
chocolate truffles
coconut creams

we had a little pink paperback book called "home made sweets and baking for children", my mum has just passed it on to me andy my kids. let the teeth rotting begin! (I have 11 fillings!! )

My first memory of cooking was at secondary school in the food and nutrition class. We 'made' toasted cheese sandwiches and cocoa?? Anyway the teacher was once very impressed with my sausage rolls and asked me to make some for a staff meeting later in the day. I forgot the salt in the pastry so after they were cooked I shook loads over the top of them. I was never asked to bake for them again :o