Apple Slice

Pastry -

1 cup plain flour
1 cup self-raising flour
1/2 cup 125g caster sugar
125g butter
1 egg, beaten

stewed apple/800g can of pie apple (Variations - add sultanas or frozen berries to the apple, or used canned apricots instead of apple)

Preheat oven to 190°C
Sift flours, add sugar and rub butter into dry ingredients. Add egg and mix into a firm dough. Turn onto a floured board. Knead until smooth. Place into fridge for 5 minutes.

Divide mixture into two. Roll out one part and fit into a greased slab pan. Remove and repeat with the other part - leave this one in the slab pan.
Spread the apple over bottom pastry sheet. Top with the other half of the pastry you prepared ealier. Score the top sheet of pastry into desired slice serving sizes .

Brush lightly with milk or egg glaze and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden. Allow to stand in pan until cold, then remove and cut into slices.

Caramel Slice

Base -
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup dessicated coconut
125g butter, melted

Caramel -
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 tbsp golden syrup
30g butter

Topping –
150g dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 180°C .

Combine first 4 ingredients, mix well. Press into pan. Bake for 10 minutes and allow to cool.

Combine sweetened condensed milk, golden syrup and extra butter in pan. Stir over medium heat until boiling, reduce heat, stir constantly further 5 minutes or until caramel begins to thicken. Spread over base and bake further 10 minutes.

When slice is cool, melt chocolate and spread over. Mark into bars and allow to set.


Vanilla Slice

2 x 25cm square sheets of butter puff pastry

Vanilla Custard-
80g cornflour
1 litre milk
40g butter
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
3 tsp vanilla essence

Icing-
1 cup icing sugar
1 tbsp milk extra

Preheat oven to 220°C
Place pastry on baking trays and prick all over with a fork. Bake for 15 mins or until golden and cooked through. Place a second tray on top while baking to prevent pastry rising too much. Allow to cool, then trim sheets to fit a 22cm square cake tin lined with foil or baking paper.

Make a cornflour custard by mixing a little of the milk with the cornflour to make a smooth paste. Heat the remainder of the milk with the butter. While it comes to the boil, add eggs to the cornflour mix, add sugar and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the heated milk and return to the heat in a clean pan.

Whisk continuously until the mixture comes to the boil and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat, add vanilla essence, then tip custard into the cake tin. Top with remaining sheet of pastry, press down and allow to cool.

Mix the icing sugar with remaining milk to make a slightly runny paste and spread over the top of the slice. Refrigerate until cold. Remove from tin and cut into 16 squares with a long, fine-bladed knife that you wipe between cuts.