Welcome! I’m Libby, the recipe researcher, writer and home cook behind Cooking with Nana Ling—a growing archive of classic Australian recipes.
From my home in the Hunter Valley, NSW, I find, research, test and preserve recipes from handwritten family collections, old community cookbooks and historical Australian newspapers. Here, you'll find all of the recipes worth keeping!
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My aim is simple: to make sure our treasured recipes—and the memories and stories attached to them—aren’t lost.
It started with Nana Ling
Cooking with Nana Ling began in 2018, after I inherited hundreds of handwritten recipes belonging to my great-grandmother, Lydia Louisa Ling (“Nana Ling”).
Nana Ling recorded recipes in her beautiful cursive in small black notebooks during the 1930s and 1940s. She also collected newspaper clippings and recipe booklets. Delving into Nana Ling’s recipe collection felt quietly magical, with each recipe revealing something new. She had many Australian favourites, including recipes for Pavlova, Golden Syrup Dumplings and Choc Ripple Cake. She even authored one of the very first Anzac Biscuits recipes – one that attracted the attention of the local press. The collection also offers a fascinating glimpse into everyday Australian cooking during that period.
Whenever I recreate one of Nana Ling’s handwritten recipes, I include a copy of the original handwritten recipe in the post. So you can see the recipe as it was recorded all those years ago, as well as follow my updated version and tips.
Preserving Australian food history
Although Cooking with Nana Ling began as a way to preserve my family’s recipes, it has developed into a wider digital archive of Australian home cooking.
I love visiting op shops, stopping off at garage sales and searching Trove to uncover old recipe collections. I carefully work through the recipes, identifying the recipes worth keeping, filling in the gaps and adapting the recipes where necessary to create clear, reliable recipes for today’s home cook.
I’m especially interested in the everyday recipes people remember their mothers, grandmothers, local bakeries and community groups making: slices, biscuits, cakes, puddings, preserves, family dinners and country-bakery favourites.
Some recipes have a well-documented history. Others require a little detective work. I often compare different versions, look for the earliest references I can find and investigate how ingredients, names and methods have changed over time. The research is one of my favourite parts of creating this website. It’s also why you’ll often find more than just a recipe here—you’ll find the story behind it, too.
Why you can trust my recipes
Every recipe on Cooking with Nana Ling is prepared and tested in my home kitchen. I also rely on my mum's decades of professional experience as a pastry cook in country bakeries. I'm regularly on the phone to her as I select and test recipes for the website.
When working from an older recipe, I consider how changes in ingredients, equipment, measurements and cooking methods may affect the result. I then provide the additional detail a modern cook needs, including tin sizes, temperatures, timing, storage instructions and step-by-step photographs.
Where possible, I consult original and historical sources. If I change or add something to an old recipe, I explain what I’ve done and why.
Of course, food isn’t only about precision and research. The final test is whether a recipe tastes wonderful and is worth making again.
Cooking with Nana Ling today
What began as a personal project inspired by some little black notebooks is now visited by close to one million readers each year, with tens of thousands more following Cooking with Nana Ling on social media.
One of the loveliest parts of my work is hearing from readers who recognise a recipe from their childhood or finally find the recipe their mother, grandmother or local bakery once made.
Those messages remind me that recipes are about far more than food. They connect us with people, places and moments we might otherwise have forgotten.
I hope the recipes and stories preserved here help you rediscover an old favourite, create new memories in your own kitchen or simply enjoy a little taste of Australia’s home-cooking history.
Libby x
P.S If you have a question, get in touch, and if you want to keep in touch – subscribe to my newsletter.
P.P.S If you're outside Australia and wondering if you'll understand my recipes, rest assured I aim to make the recipes suitable for a global audience. I've also created a guide to using Australian recipes.
P.P.P.S If you're a brand wanting to chat about a collaboration or sponsorship, please contact me and download my media kit.