Nostalgic recipes
Bring the past to your plate with these nostalgic recipes. You could start with taking a trip back to your school days with sticky sponges, rice pudding, cheese pies and teatime treats like fondant fancies and iced party rings.
Retro recipes that were once all the rage make a comeback. We’re talking prawn cocktail, black forest gateau and arctic roll. Old-fashioned treats like pork pies, raspberry lemonade and scotch eggs also feature in this unashamedly nostalgic recipe collection.
Which old favourite will you make first?
And if you want to lay on a huge vintage festive feast, try our nostalgic Christmas recipes collection too.
Showing 1-16 of 89 recipes
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Chips
Ham, egg and chips
Ham, egg and chips with a twist is an laid-back dinner party winner. Think sour cherry glaze, perfect egg and homemade chips.
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Easy
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Rice puddings
Rice pudding brûlée with caramel bananas
If you love rice pudding, you'll love this indulgent rice pudding brûlée with caramel bananas from dinner party expert Rosie Mackean.
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Easy
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Favourite chicken
Chicken marbella
Learn how to make 1980s favourite chicken marbella with our easy recipe. This chicken traybake is packed with olives, prunes and capers.
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Easy
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Baked cheesecakes
Mint ‘Viennetta’ New York cheesecake
Packed with nostalgic retro flavours, this mint chocolate cheesecake is baked in a loaf tin to give it that classic ‘Viennetta’ look and feel
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Medium
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Custard
Custard jam slice
Fancy a proper custard slice with layers of flaky pastry and silky custard? Oliver and Tom of The Exploding Bakery show you how to make it.
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Easy
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Christmas air fryer recipes
Air fryer sesame egg mayo vol-au-vents
These moreish vol-au-vents with sesame egg mayo are the perfect make-ahead party bites. Best of all, you can cook them in the air fryer.
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Easy
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Chicken breast
Best-of-the-best chicken kyiv
Our best chicken kyiv sees amped-up garlic butter surrounded by tender chicken and encased in super-crunchy breadcrumbs.
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Medium
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Tomato pastas
Pasta pomodoro
Pasta pomodoro is the original – and best – tomato pasta. This recipe is quick and easy but uses a few tricks to really amp up the flavour.
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Easy
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Creamy pasta
Chicken alfredo
Creamy and rich with a hint of garlic and dried herbs, this easy chicken alfredo pasta is the ultimate in Italian-American comfort food.
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Easy
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Make-ahead summer desserts
Paul Ainsworth’s strawberry trifle
Top chef Paul Ainsworth shares a recipe from his debut cookbook, upgrading his dad's classic trifle with fresh peak-season strawberries.
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Summer cocktails
Sex on the beach
The sex on the beach cocktail was hugely popular in the 1980s for its pleasing two-tone appearance. Learn the secrets to this sweet favourite.
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Easy
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Pasta salads
Pink and green prawn and pasta salad
Debora Robertson's verdant pasta salad is crammed with juicy pink prawns. Perfect for a laid-back summer dinner in the garden.
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Easy
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Non-alcoholic drinks
Classic homemade lemonade
Homemade lemonade is completely different to most of the stuff in the shops. Tailor the sweetness and tang to your personal taste.
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Easy
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Prawn cocktails
Prawn cocktail platter
Create the ultimate prawn cocktail platter with proper marie rose dip made with homemade mayo, prawns and crisp lettuce leaves.
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Easy
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Sweet tarts
Michel Roux Jr’s almond and raspberry frangipane tart
Devote an afternoon to making Michel Roux Jr’s classy frangipane tart. “This French version of a bakewell tart is one of my favourites,” he says.
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Easy
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Frozen dessert
Mini baked alaskas
Introducing our failsafe mini baked alaskas: chocolate no-churn ice cream, sturdy sponge base, no-cook jam and silky torched swiss meringue.
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