Hunters Vanilla Slice

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Recipe's preparation

Pastry Sheets

1. Take 2 sheets of puff pastry from the packet, leaving the blue plastic on. Leave on the bench for 5 minutes while you preheat the oven to 200*C and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
2. Prick the pastry all over with a fork, dust evenly with a light layer of icing sugar. Lay it face down on the tray. REMOVE BLUE PLASTIC from the pastry, prick randomly again with a fork, but no need to do it a much as the first side. Dust with icing sugar.
Repeat with the other sheet of pastry, placing it on the second tray.
3. Place a non stick cake rack upside down on the top of the pastry. This will weigh it down enough to stop it from puffing too much but also allows it to cook a little more evently.
If you only have one rack(like me ), you'll need to cook the sheets of pastry one at a time.
4. Place pastry in the oven and cook for approximately 15 to 20 min until cooked through the middle. Turning once during cooking. The edges will get quite dark, that's ok, as long as they aren't really burnt.
5. Set aside to cool on the baking tray while you make the custard.

1. Use a container or tray of a similar size, or slightly smaller than the pastry, for the vanilla slice. That way you won't waste to much pastry when you trim it. Line it with plastic cling wrap, then line with baking paper, leaving extra at the sides so you can lift it out when it's set.
2. Trim the cooled pastry on a board, with a bread knife. Gently score the pastry with the knife horizontally, then continue to gently saw back and forth until you've taken off a little at the sides to fit your container or tray.
3. Place one piece of pastry in the bottom of the lined container. Put the other piece aside.
The steps above can be done while your custard is cooling a little.

Custard filling

1. Place caster sugar, custard powder, cornflour, plain flour and salt into TM bowl. Mix 5 sec/sp 5.
2. Place cream, milk, vanilla and egg yolks in TM bowl. Mix 5 sec/sp 5.
3. Cook on "Thickening" mode, choosing 100*C. Place simmering basket on top to allow for evaporation.
4. Cook a further 2 min/100*/sp 4 with simmering basket on top.
This should now be of a thick, ploppy consitency. If not thick and plopping off the spatula, cook another minute, same temp and speed with simmering basket.
5. Turn on speed 4 and add butter cubes through the lid opening, mixing in for a total of 2 minutes.
6. Transfer custard mixture to a large ceramic bowl to cool a little. You can even make a shallow cold water bath in the sink and place the bowl in it to cool quickly. DO NOT let water get in with the custard.
Don't put it in the fridge as it will form a skin, this step is just to cool slightly before pouring onto the pastry.
While it's cooling, do your pastry prep as above.

Assembly

1. Pour the custard mixture on the bottom layer of pastry in the lined container. Spread evenly. Place the othe piece of pastry on top, very gently pressing into the custard. Press lightly just to make sure all of the pastry is in contact with the custard.
2. Place into the fridge for at least 4 hours. Dust with icing sugar to your desired thickness.
3. When fully set, use the baking paper to lift the slice out of the container, on to a large cutting board.
4. Using a bread knife, horizontally as before, gently score your lines in the pastry, then gently saw back and forth until you've gone through the top layer. You can now slowly slide the knife through the custard. I then slid the knife horizontally through the bottom layer, while holding the custard with my fingers to prevent the custard sliding with the knife. It's best to wipe the knife inbetween cuts.

Optional Passionfruit Icing

If you like traditional passionfruit icing on the vanilla slice, leave out the last layer of dusted icing sugar and replace with this icing recipe.
Mix 1 cup of icing sugar mixture, 20g of melted butter, 4 drops of lemon juice, 2 tblsp of tinned or fresh passionfruit (you can put it through a seive to remove pips first if desired) and 1 tblsp of milk in a small bowl.
Mix to desired runnyness, if you need it more runny, add a tiny bit of milk, teaspoon at a time. If you like it thicker, add more icing sugar.
Pour over top layer of pastry before setting in the fridge. Spread with the back of a spoon. Set for at least 4 hours and cut as per instructions above.