Name: Vanilla Slice
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 9 servings
Cuisine: Australia
Ingredients: 2 puff pastry sheets; 800 ml whole milk; 100 g cornstarch; 150 g sugar; 4 egg yolks; 50 g butter; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 150 g icing sugar, for the icing; 2 tbsp water or milk, for the icing

Vanilla slice is a bakery window fixture across the country, thick custard set between two layers of baked puff pastry and topped with plain icing, and it carries the cheerfully unflattering nickname "snot block" almost everywhere it is sold.

Getting the custard properly thick, more pudding than pourable sauce, is what actually holds the layers together once it is cut. A looser custard looks the same going into the tin but falls apart the moment you try to slice it.

Part of our 20 best Australian recipes list.

method

Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Line two baking trays and bake each puff pastry sheet, pricked all over with a fork, for 15 to 18 minutes, until deeply golden and crisp. Press down gently with another tray partway through if it puffs up too much. Let cool.

Line a square baking tin, about 20cm, with parchment, leaving overhang on the sides. Trim one baked pastry sheet to fit and place it in the base.

Whisk the cornstarch, sugar and egg yolks with a little of the cold milk until smooth. Heat the remaining milk until just steaming.

Pour the hot milk into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly, then return it all to the pan.

Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, for 5 to 7 minutes, until very thick, like a firm pudding. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla.

Pour the hot custard over the pastry base in the tin and smooth the top. Trim the second pastry sheet to fit and lay it on top, pressing down very gently.

Chill for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight, until completely set and firm.

Mix the icing sugar with enough water or milk to make a smooth, spreadable icing. Spread it over the top pastry layer.

Once the icing has set, lift the slice out using the parchment overhang and cut into squares with a hot, dry knife.

chef's tips

The custard needs to be genuinely thick, closer to a firm pudding than a pourable sauce, or the slice will not hold its layers once cut.
This dessert has the irreverent nickname "snot block" across Australia, used affectionately rather than as any real criticism of the dish.
A hot, dry knife, wiped clean between cuts, gives much cleaner squares through the layered custard and icing than a cold one.
Full chilling time is not optional here. A slice cut before the custard has properly set falls apart instead of holding its distinct layers.