We tend to look back at the '70s and '80s as a pretty dark time for British gastronomy. Sides of salmon glazed with aspic, cheese and pineapple skewers, hot dogs in tins – there are some things that are better left to the mists of time. That said, not everything we ate in the past was terrible – there are some classic retro dishes that remain unfairly tainted by the past. We think it's high time to bring them back.

Devils on horseback, for example? Totally delicious, no matter what decade you're in. Prawn cocktail? A legitimate British classic! We've rounded up six great crowd-pleasing retro canapés that deserve to be back in the limelight. Best of all, they can all be thrown together at the drop of the hat – no faffing necessary. Read on for more.

We've yet to meet someone who could resist a party sausage roll on a platter. While store-bought ones are often claggy, disappointingly limp and questionably grey, a homemade sausage roll is something completely different. It might look a bit of a faff but sausage rolls are so easy to make – just season pork mince, spoon it down the centre of puff pastry and roll it into a sausage. A short stint in the oven and you have a ready-to-go crowd pleaser.

Something about the idea of devilled eggs takes us back to the darkest days of '70s dinner parties. That reputation is unfair, we think – a properly prepared devilled egg is a delicious thing. The key is to chill your eggs once you've boiled them – this stops the yolk greying around the edges, and gives you a lovely vibrant yellow to your final canapé.

Arguably Britain's most famous (and most popular) hors d'oeuvre, no one is going to argue when you dish up these prawn cocktail lettuce cups. The most important step, believe it or not, is to refresh your lettuce leaves in ice water – this will crisp them up, making sure they can hold the prawn filling and gives them a nice crunch.

Vol-au-vents have always had a classy '80s dinner party vibe about them, but they're actually very simple to put together. Once you've cut out your vol-au-vents from the puff pastry sheet, you can crack on with your filling – we've gone for a tasty mushroom and tarragon filling, but you can go with whatever you like!

Wrapping food in bacon is high on anyone's list of important Christmas traditions. Once you're done wrapping your sausages and turkey in delicious bacon, why not tackle some prunes? The sweet-salty combination is a delight, and all you have to do is combine the two and pop them in the oven for quarter of an hour.

Sometimes the most delicious things are the most simple. Bake some new potatoes until they're piping hot, then top with sour cream, crispy bacon and chopped chives. That's it. We guarantee there won't be any left by the time dinner starts.