Anzac Biscuits

Anzac Biscuits are an iconic Australian biscuit, known to have been baked by Aussie wives and mums and sent to the front during war. We’ve long loved these crunchy and chewy biscuits, defined by their key ingredients – oats and golden syrup – along with the fact there...

Golden Syrup Dumplings

Around the world, dumplings are the comfort food of choice for many. And there are a huge variety of dumplings out there, both sweet and savoury. This is a recipe for old-fashioned Golden Syrup Dumplings.The sweetest choice in dumplings Golden syrup dumplings are a...

Irish Soda Bread

Irish Soda Bread is one of the easiest breads to make at home. There's no yeast required, no waiting for the bread to rise and very little kneading involved. Best of all, it's a wonderfully comforting and tasty bread.The history of soda breadWhile it was the American...

Pavlova Grazing Board

Pavlova Grazing Boards became a huge hit recently. We've used a summer fruits theme to prepare our version of this popular dessert.Pavlova – just how you like itOver Christmas 2019, Shalini Nestor of Swish Biscuits shared her pavlova grazing board creation. Pavlova...

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Here you’ll find classic Australian recipes, all cooked up with a pinch of nostalgia.

Libby x

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A recipe blog that began 80 years ago

During the 1930’s and 40’s, my great grandmother – Nana Ling – carefully recorded hundreds and hundreds of recipes in small notebooks.

She was prolific and precise, recording everything from classic sweets that we still love today to forgotten gems. She even had her own star rating system.

Thanks to a love of home cooking that’s wound its way down the maternal line, that notebook eventually found its way to me, Libby, one of her many great grandchildren.

In 2018, I started testing, tweaking and recording Nana Ling’s recipes and other family favourites here on the blog.

Making time for Cooking with Nana Ling every week – learning, remembering, and creating – has made me a happier home cook.

It’s inspired me to better align my cooking with the seasons, and reminded me of the memories that home cooking creates and the connections that can be made through a shared recipe.

The creativity and productivity that happens here on the blog simply makes me a happier person. I hope these shared recipes can add a little extra joy to your life too.

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Our most popular recipes

Lemon Cake

This old-fashioned lemon cake recipe has a charm that defies the years. Bake it now and bring some sweet, lemony loveliness to your day. Lemons: always in season and always usefulWhile lemons are more plentiful in winter, they're generally available year round. Which...

Honey Joys

Honey Joys are the sweet, crunchy and golden treats many of us first discovered at a kids party many years ago. If you're looking for the best Honey Joys recipe, you're in the right place. We've perfected the recipe to deliver this one you'll want to add to your...

Sponge Cake

It may have taken the efforts of four generations of mums, but I finally managed to bake a Sponge Cake that doesn't sink. This Sponge Cake recipe has been taunting me for a few months. Until now – I've finally found the courage to give it a go.Sponge Cakes: the most...

Choc Ripple Cake

The Choc Ripple Cake is perfect for those who want to impress with minimum effort and maximum impact. You will need to plan ahead a little. This dessert needs at least 6 hours standing time in the fridge, preferably 12 hours. However, provided you're organised, this...

Mars Bar Slice

Mars Bar Slice has been around for decades in Aussie home cooking, and was hugely popular in the 80's and early 90's. While padded shoulders, perms and neon are best left as memories, this slice is in an entirely different category. It's just as good today – and I...

Victoria Sponge

Is there any dessert as regal as the Victoria Sponge? Perched on a cake stand, with a jam and cream filling and icing sugar dusting , the Victoria Sponge is a quintessential afternoon tea treat. I've added some strawberries and cream on top of the sponge here, though...

Mock Chicken

This old fashioned Mock Chicken recipe is a firm family favourite. All of my aunts and cousins will think of just one person when this recipe is mentioned: our Nan MacDonald, Nana Ling's daughter. Nan Mac, as we all called her, would turn up at our family gatherings...

Coconut Biscuits

Who loves coconut biscuits, or coconut macaroons as they are sometimes called? I certainly do. I've tried countless recipes over the years, some quite fiddly, searching for the perfect coconut biscuit. However, I've never quite been satisfied with my coconut...