Vanilla Slice

Charmaine Lu -

  • 2 x 25cm puff pastry sheets
  • 80g cornstarch
  • 1 litre of milk
  • 40g unsalted butter
  • 6 eggs
  • 200g sugar
  • 3 tsp vanilla extract
  • 200g icing sugar
  • Milk, for brushing
  • Preheat the oven to 220C. Place the pastry sheets on baking trays, prick with a fork and brush with a little milk. Cover with another baking tray (to stop the pastry from rising too much), then bake for 15 mins or until golden. Leave to cool, then trim to fit a lined 22cm cake tin. Place one sheet in the cake tin and set aside.
  • Make a custard by mixing a splash of milk with the cornflour to make a paste. Heat the rest of the milk with the butter and bring to the boil. Whisk the eggs and sugar into the cornflour paste until smooth, then whisk in the hot milk and return to the heat in a fresh pan. Whisk continuously until the mixture comes to a simmer, then gently bubble for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla and then tip the custard into the cake tin over the pastry sheet.
  • Top the custard with the other sheet of cooked pastry. Press down, leave to cool, then top with icing sugar. Refrigerate until cold and set, then remove from the pan and cut into 16 slices to serve.
30 mins
16 serving