Classic Vanilla Slice
Crispy puff pastry, creamy vanilla custard, and passionfruit icing. The iconic Australian bakery treat that's been a favorite since the 1950s.
The Story Behind This Recipe
My grandmother's bakery recipe from rural Victoria - Helen Morrison
Walk into any Australian country bakery and there it is in the display cabinet: Vanilla Slice - two layers of golden puff pastry sandwiching thick vanilla custard, topped with pale pink passionfruit icing. It's been there since the 1950s, competing with the sausage rolls and meat pies for prime position, and despite decades of food trends coming and going, the Vanilla Slice remains. My grandmother worked at a bakery in rural Victoria from 1965 to 1985, and she made hundreds of Vanilla Slices every week. "People don't get tired of this," she'd say, carefully piping custard onto pastry. "It's simple, it's sweet, and it reminds them of childhood. That's good enough."
Vanilla Slice came to Australia with British immigrants - in Britain, it's called a "custard slice" or sometimes a "Napoleon" (though that's technically French). Australian bakeries adopted it enthusiastically in the post-war period when convenience ingredients like custard powder made it economical to produce. By the 1960s, every country bakery, suburban patisserie, and school canteen had their version. Some used real vanilla custard, some used custard powder mixed with cream, some topped it with white icing, others with pink passionfruit. Regional variations became fierce points of local pride.
Gran's bakery version followed a reliable pattern: sheets of puff pastry baked until golden and crispy, thick vanilla custard made with real vanilla beans (when the boss was feeling generous) or quality vanilla extract (most other times), and passionfruit icing made with fresh passionfruit pulp and icing sugar. "The secret," Gran would tell young apprentices, "is the balance. Pastry must be crispy, custard must be thick enough to hold its shape but creamy enough to be luxurious, icing must be thin enough to bite through but thick enough to not run off. Get these three things right, and people will drive from three towns away."
Making Vanilla Slice at home was rare - most Australians bought theirs from bakeries - but Gran would occasionally make it on Sundays for family gatherings. The kitchen would smell of butter, vanilla, and passionfruit, and we'd gather around watching anxiously as she assembled each slice. The hardest part, she explained, was cutting it cleanly. "Use a very sharp knife, wipe it between every cut, and press down firmly in one motion - no sawing! Sawing squishes the custard out the sides and makes a mess."
The eating experience of a proper Vanilla Slice is unforgettable: the crunch of crispy pastry shattering at first bite, the cold smooth custard coating your mouth, the tart-sweet passionfruit icing cutting through the richness. It's messy eating - custard inevitably squishes out the sides, icing transfers to your nose, pastry flakes cascade down your shirt. But that's part of the charm. As Gran said, "If you can eat a Vanilla Slice neatly, it wasn't made properly."
This recipe represents Australian bakery culture - British foundations adapted with Australian ingredients (passionfruit!), made accessible through post-war convenience, and perfected over decades in country town bakeries where quality mattered more than fashion. When I make Gran's Vanilla Slice now, using her method and her passionfruit icing recipe, I taste every bakery counter I've ever leaned over, every country town I've ever driven through, and every Sunday afternoon at Gran's table where the Vanilla Slices were always cut exactly square.
"Every recipe tells a story, and every story brings us closer to the heart of home."
Adjust Servings
Scaled Ingredients:
💡 Tip: Cooking times may need adjustment when scaling. Larger batches may take longer, smaller batches may cook faster.
Ingredients
For the Pastry
For the Vanilla Custard
For the Passionfruit Icing
Pro Tips
- • Weight the puff pastry while baking to keep it flat and even.
- • Stir custard constantly while cooking to prevent lumps and burning.
- • Custard must be completely cold before folding in whipped cream.
- • Use a very sharp knife and wipe between every cut for neat slices.
- • Press straight down when cutting - don't saw or the custard squishes out.
- • Fresh passionfruit gives the best icing flavor, but tinned works too.
- • For nostalgic bakery flavor, use custard powder instead of cornflour.
Storage
Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container. The pastry will soften slightly over time but it's still delicious. Not suitable for freezing - the custard separates and the pastry goes soggy.
Instructions
- 1
Preheat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced). Line two large baking trays with baking paper. This is for the puff pastry.
- 2
Lay the two sheets of thawed puff pastry on the lined trays. Prick all over with a fork - this prevents them from puffing up too much. Gran's technique: cover each pastry sheet with another sheet of baking paper and place another baking tray on top. This weight keeps the pastry flat and even.
- 3
Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden, crispy, and completely cooked through. Remove the top trays and paper halfway through (about 12 minutes) to allow browning. The pastry should be deep golden and crispy, not pale and soft. Let cool completely on wire racks.
25 minutes - 4
Make the custard: In a large saucepan, whisk together ½ cup of the milk with the cornflour, egg yolks, and sugar until smooth and lump-free. This is your slurry.
- 5
Add the remaining 3½ cups of milk to the saucepan and whisk to combine. Place over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or whisk. Gran's warning: 'Never stop stirring or it will catch and burn on the bottom.'
- 6
Keep stirring constantly as the mixture heats. After about 8-10 minutes, it will suddenly start to thicken dramatically. Keep stirring vigorously as it thickens into a smooth, thick custard. It should coat the back of your spoon heavily.
10 minutes - 7
Once thickened, remove from heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla extract (or vanilla bean seeds). The butter adds richness and shine. Keep stirring until the butter is fully melted and incorporated.
- 8
Transfer the custard to a bowl and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface (this prevents a skin forming). Refrigerate for at least 2 hours until completely cold. Gran's rule: 'Custard must be cold before you fold in cream, or the cream will collapse.'
2 hours - 9
Once custard is completely cold, whip the cream to soft peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream through the cold custard using a spatula. This lightens the custard and makes it luxuriously creamy. The mixture should be thick but spreadable.
- 10
Assemble the slice: Line a slice tin (about 20cm x 30cm) with baking paper. Place one sheet of cooled puff pastry in the bottom, trimming to fit if needed. The pastry should fit snugly.
- 11
Spread the custard mixture evenly over the pastry, right to the edges. Use a spatula or the back of a spoon to smooth it perfectly level. The custard layer should be thick - about 3-4cm.
- 12
Place the second sheet of puff pastry on top of the custard, pressing down very gently to ensure good contact. Don't press too hard or custard will squish out. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to set.
1 hour - 13
Make the passionfruit icing: In a bowl, sift the icing sugar. Add the passionfruit pulp and 2 tablespoons of boiling water. Stir until smooth and spreadable. If too thick, add more water a teaspoon at a time. If too thin, add more icing sugar. For traditional pale pink icing, add a tiny drop of pink food coloring.
- 14
Spread the icing evenly over the top pastry layer, right to the edges. Let it set for 30 minutes at room temperature until the icing is no longer tacky.
30 minutes - 15
The crucial step - cutting: Use a large, very sharp knife. Wipe the blade clean with a damp cloth. In one firm, confident motion, press straight down through all the layers to cut into squares (about 7cm x 7cm). Wipe the knife clean between EVERY cut. Gran's technique: straight down, no sawing, wipe blade, repeat.
- 16
Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving. Vanilla Slice is best eaten cold. To eat: pick up with your fingers, take a big bite, and accept that custard will squish out the sides. That's traditional!
Ingredient Substitutions
Nutrition Information
Per serving (approximate)
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