Vanilla Slice Help

[Bonsai]

I apologise if this topic has already been covered, I tried a search, but didn't get very far.

I have a recipe for Vanilla Slice, however, it it so thick that it tends to be very gluggy, and just recently it's been tasting very cornfloury?!

Is there a reason why when cooking with cornflour, you can sometimes taste it?

And if anyone has a fool proof vanilla slice recipe that is thick enough to "stand on it's own" I would be delighted to hear from you

**please be patient if I post in the wrong place..I'm new here!!**

[BigDog]

Never heard of Vanilla Slice. I'm interested to know what it is, along with the recipe to try it!

[Bonsai]

Hmm, perhaps it's called something differnt!

Basically, it's two layers of puff pastry (flattened) with a thick vanilla custard filling in between! It's then iced with either passionfruit or chocolate icing and cut into squares!

Delicious is you're a fan of custard.

I'll post the recipe when I get home!

[Bonsai]

Here is the Vanilla Slice recipe I was referring to.

Vanilla Slice

Ingredients
500g Packaged puff pastry
1C sugar
3/4 C corn flour
1/2 C custard powder
2C milk
2C cream
60g butter
3 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla essence

Method
1)Have pastry at room temperature, trim two sheets to fit a line 23cm baking lamington tin.
2)Bake in a very hot oven until well browned and puffed. Remove and flatten each piece, set aside.
3)Combine sugar, cornflour and custard powder with a little milk, whisk until combined. Add remaining milk and whisk till there are not lumps.
4)Add butter and slowly heat mixture on stove top, stirring constantly, until mixture boils or becomes thick and clumps together away from the sides of the pan.
5)Remove from heat and quickly add egg yolks and vanilla, stir well.
6)Pour mixture onto prepared pasty sheets.
7)Ice with passionfruit or choc icing, chill over night and then slice.

[foodpump]

We called them "Napolians" or "Mille feuilles". Great tasting but messy to eat. A couple of things you can do. The first is to add a little gelatine to your recipie. This will stiffen up the cream a little more. Not a big fan of this, but it does work. The second thing you can do is make yourself a wooden frame, much like a carpenter's miter box, to prevent the whole pastry from being squashed. The third thing you can do, which I strongly suggest, is to get an electric knife. Cheap ones are about $10. This is the perfect tool for slicing pastries, quiches, etc. You can't squash the pastry as you slice it. Also, if you place the whole pastry in the freezer for about 20 mins, or until the ceam just starts to freeze, then the odds of crushing are much lesser.

Hope this helps

[Harpua]

Is custard powder the same as alsay powder?

[momoreg]

When you search online, look up Napoleons, and you'll find tons of info.

The puff sheets should be baked between 2 sheets of parchment, snadwiched between two sheetpans. Dock (make lots of tiny holes in)the dough well before baking, to prevent shrinkage.

Don't fill until the custard has cooled, and after you've assembled the whole thing (before icing), push down firmly on top with a sheetpan, being careful not to break it. Chill before icing. I've never tried an electric knife for this, but it's a great idea. I usually saw through with a serrated knife.

For the filling you can use a fresh pastry cream. It's very common, tastes better than the powdered stuff, but is also a bit more time consuming to make.

[Harpua]

Thank god for pastry cream. It is so useful. Momoreg is right, it is very versatile and firms up well. I wouldnt say it is TOO time consuming if you make a large batch of it, it can just be a *****.

[Bonsai]

Thanks for the tips...especially the pastry ones, I have had trouble getting the pastry just right, so much so that I gave up and used store brought lattice biscuits instead, which I might add, work suprisingly well!

Will have to try the puff pastry again.

I am still stumped about how to make the custard filling not quite so thick and gluggy!

[momoreg]

Gradually fold in whipped cream. It will lighten it up beautifully!

[AprilB]

It's meant to have more of a solid consistency than typical Napoleons or
Bavarian Creams. Like a cross between a custard and pastry cream.

I would bake the puff pastry between two layers of parchment held down between two sheet pans for a little more than half of the baking period then remove the parchment and top sheetpan to let it brown slightly. It makes for the thinner shell that Aussies use.

(I lived there for 5+ years)

April

[MoreInk]

Yes, electric knives are great for mille feuilles. I've used them. Or have on hand a very sharp serrated knife to cut them, cleaning the knife after each cut.

[lamington]

If I remember rightly, the puff pastry has to be heavily docked.

The Australian vanilla slice does vary a little regionally. There's the very thick custard type which is almost set. And there's the pastry cream mixed with whipped cream, which is a good deal softer. Which one are you aiming for, Bonsai? (The latter is what comes closest to the millefeuille or the North American Napoleon.)

[AprilB]

You need to make certain that you have the pastry cream at a low boil for at least a couple of minutes until really thick. The only way to circumvent the raw taste is to cook it long enough at high enough temp. It does go away.

Rather than whipping it after completely set, for the thick consistency you'd cool the pastry cream to room temp and then pour it onto the pastry.

April

[auzzi]

You seem to be missing 1 1/4 c liquid.

Compare your recipe with this one from ABC radio Melbourne:
Vanilla Slice Chef: Geoff Lindsay [Pearl Restaurant]

1 500g package frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup custard powder
3/4 cup cornstarch
5 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup butter
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup caster sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 dash vanilla extract
1 Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Unfold puff pastry sheets, and place
flat onto baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned
and puffed. Set aside.
2 Combine the sugar, custard powder and cornstarch in a large saucepan.
Mix in just enough milk to form a paste, then gradually mix in the rest.
This will prevent lumps from forming. Add the butter. Cook over medium heat,
stirring frequently until thick. You may need to use a whisk to ensure a
smooth consistency. When the mixture comes to a simmer, cook stirring
constantly for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in the egg yolks
and vanilla.
3 Line a 22cm baking dish with aluminum foil. Place one of the baked
pastry sheets in the bottom of the dish. Spread the custard filling in an
even layer over the pastry, and top with the other sheet.
4 Mix the confectioners' sugar with 1 tablespoon of milk, and a dash of
vanilla to make an icing. Spread over the top of the pastry. Refrigerate
until the custard layer is firm. Remove from the pan and slice.