One of my favourite things ever to get from a bakery is a vanilla slice and is something that will always remind me of my mum and grandma. It’s not something I usually make from scratch but it’s actually a lot easier than you’d think and to be honest, tastes much better than store bought.
Preheat your oven to 180˚C.
Cut your sheet of puff pastry in half as evenly as possible and lay on a lined baking tray. Place another piece of baking paper on top with another tray on top of that. This process prevents the puff pastry from puffing up too much and keeps it in a nice flat sheet. Bake the puff pastry for around 35 minutes or until it’s nicely golden and crisp.
Add your milk, cream and butter to a saucepan and bring to a simmer.
In the meantime, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and cornflour. If it’s a little bit thick and difficult to whisk, you can add a splash of water.
Once the milk mixture is at a simmer, pour about half a cup into the yolk mix and whisk until it is completely incorporated. Add the remaining milk mixture then return it to the saucepan. If you are worried about curdling your custard, you can do this process over a double boiler but it’s up to you.
Place the saucepan over medium heat & stir continuously until the mixture is thickened and falls of the spatula. The ideal temperature of the pastry crème should be between 75˚C and 82˚C.
Line a tray of container with baking paper which is around the same size as the puff pastry. If it’s a little too small, feel free to gently trim your puff pastry sheet.
Place once sheet of puff pastry into the base of the tray, followed by the pastry crème and the second piece of puff pastry on top of that.
Cover the tray with either a lid or some glad wrap and set in the fridge for a few hours and for the custard to firm up.
Remove from the tray, dust with icing sugar and serve!
Mon Mack Food is my little space to share my passion for food. It is also a place to document the recipes I’ve created while cooking for friends and family! While it is now just a hobby, my absolute dream is to build this project into something I can one day call my job 🙂
