Vanilla Slice

Who influences your baking?

My biggest baking influences would have to be my Mother and my Nonna with one of my Aunts also providing me with lots of baking advice.

None of these ladies has ever made Vanilla Slice which is why I've always stayed away from baking them myself.

I'd always just assumed that they would be too hard, too tricky, too messy or too fidly to bake. Wrong. Wrong and Wrong!

No wonder they say never to assume things.

Since discovering the best Vanilla Slice in Australia it's fair to say I've been obsessed with learning how to bake my own.

I used a recipe from the Australian Women's Weekly Cooking Class Cookbook.

The whole process was a lot simpler than I'd imagined.

So simple that I will definitely be making these again soon.

Preparing the store brought puff pasty.

Have your tin, foil and bottom layer of pastry ready to go before you make the custard filling.

The surprisingly quick to make custard filling. As soon as it thickens get it off the stove and into the pan as it sets quickly.

After a little over 24 hours in the fridge the vanilla slice had set beautifully.

I went with super pink icing. Next time I'll use crushed berries or strawberries and make a real flavoured icing.

Two of my baking influences mentioned that they would now attempt a Vanilla Slice. I'm taking that as a compliment!