Vanilla Slices

Engagement parties are the time to celebrate the joining of a couple. If you’re a guest, it’s a time to pig out on some tasty food, socialise with friends and take advantage of the free alcohol. However, if you’re the family of the engaged couple and they’ve decided to cost cut by hiring you to cook for their 100 guests, it means one thing: cooking, and a hell of a lot of it! This blog post is for those of you unlucky chefs who fall into the latter category. Fortunately, the days leading up to the engagement party don’t have to be spent sweating it out in the kitchen because the following recipes are quick, tasty and foolproof. How would I know? Well, just last weekend my sister had her engagement party and this dish was a sure-fire hit amongst their 100 guests.   

Ingredients:

• 2 sheets of frozen puff pastry, defrosted to room temperature
• 4  cups of milk 
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of custard powder
• 3/4 cup corn flour
• 60grams butter
• 2 egg yolks

Icing Ingredients:

• 2cups of icing sugar, sifted
• 60grams butter
• 125grams cream cheese

Method:

1. Line a 30cm, rectangular baking tin with foil
2. Place 1 sheet of the puff pastry with foil 
3. Bake in the oven at 220 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes
4. In a saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, custard powder, flour and butter and stir over low heat until the mixture thickens.
5. Add the 2 egg yolks and stir until smooth.
6. Remove the dish with the cooked puff pastry from the oven and pour the custard filling directly ontop of the pastry.
7.  Place the other sheet of puff pastry on a baking tray and bake in the oven at 220 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes
8. When it is cooked, place directly ontop of the custard filling 
9. Refrigerate the custard slices whist making the icing.

 

Icing Method:

1. Place all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until smooth
2. When the vanilla slices are cold, spread with the icing
3. Cut the vanilla slices into squares to serve

Isabella's Tip:
When cutting the vanilla slice, it's best to make sure that the final product has set completely before making any cuts. Also, it's important