This recipe comes from my great great grandmother Emma Cooper Bancroft who was American. Having researched this recipe a little I have discovered that the ‘Sally Lunn Bun’ in fact originates from Bath in the west country, just up the road from where I sit today. 1 pint milk 1 egg 3 tablespoonfuls of butter [...]

The simplest recipe we’ve tried to date, this take on the classic biscuit has only three ingredients. 6 oz flour 4 oz butter 2 oz sugar Work all together in a basin into a smooth dough with the hand. Roll out on floured board, cut the cake cutter and bake in floured tins. No problems [...]

This recipe caught my eye for the underlining (italicised here) and for the stern admonition at the end.  Being a novice I made one cake with the smaller quantities as I wouldn’t have wanted to waste good ingredients on a potential failure! 3 eggs 1/4 lb. flour, well sifted 1/4 lb. sugar 1/2 gill (1/8 of [...]

Ginger beer is one of my favourites. Not the horrible insipid stuff they sell in Tesco for me though. I prefer the murky, home-made variety that burns the back of your throat and makes your eyes water. It’s not really the time of year for this classic drink but who doesn’t need a reminder of [...]

This recipe comes courtesy of Lucy B. Morland, my great-grandmother’s first cousin. I’m really going to have to put a family tree up here at some point – I’m beginning to confuse myself! Soak two breakfast cups of lentils in warm water for two hours, having previously washed them; drain off the water and place [...]

For the second dessert we selected Bakewell Pudding.  This recipe is credited to Emily Malone, a name which is unfamiliar to both me and my mother so unfortunately we can’t determine how old it is or its provenance. Unlike many of the recipes in the box, this one includes a full ingredients list and a fairly comprehensive procedure: 1 [...]

The first attempt at a recipe from the box and it becomes clear that the recipes aren’t entirely comprehensive and that the lack of photographs is quite a disadvantage.  There are also very few people alive who remember eating any of these recipes and a short consultation with my mother reveals very little – she [...]

As it’s Christmas, we thought we’d start with some festive puddings. We will be testing (inflicting?) ‘Snowballs’ and ‘Bakewell Pudding’ on the guests of a New Year’s Eve party we’re going to tonight. Wish them luck!