posted by bme 08-22-101 2:08 AM
Vanilla Slices
Base/Top:
1 pound puff pastry -- (1 pkg.)
Filling:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornflour [cornstarch to North Americans]
1/2 cup custard powder
4 cups milk
2 ounces butter
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla
Passion Fruit Icing:
1 cup icing sugar [powdered sugar]
1 teaspoon butter
1 passion fruit
1 teaspoon water -- approx.
Have pastry at room temperature. Some packages of puff pastry come in two separate 1/2 pound blocks; some come in a 1 pound black. If using the former, roll each half block separately. If using the large block, cut pastry in half.
Roll each half of pastry to a 13-inch square, then with sharp knife trim to 12-inch square. Place one square of pastry on large ungreased oven tray; bake in very hot oven 5 to 10 minutes or until well browned.
Trim pastry with sharp knife to 9-inch square. Bake and trim remaining pastry in the same way. Flatten "puffy" side of both pieces of pastry with hand.
Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, bringing the foil up and over sides; this makes it easy to remove slice when set. Place one piece of pastry into base of tin, flattened side uppermost.
Combine sugar, cornflour (cornstarch) and custard powder in heavy-based saucepan; mix well to combine.
Blend with a little of the milk until smooth, stir in remaining milk; add butter. Stir mixture constantly over heat until custard boils and thickens; reduce heat, simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat, quickly stir in vanilla, then stir in the beaten egg yolks. Pour hot custard immediately over pastry in tin. Place remaining pastry on top of custard so the flattened side touches the hot custard. Press pastry firmly with hand.
Spread evenly with Passion fruit icing when cool, refrigerate several hours or overnight until filling has set.
Passion fruit Icing: Sift icing sugar into small basin; add softened butter and pulp from passion fruit. Add enough water, approximately 1 teaspoonful, to make icing of thick spreading consistency. (The amount of water needed will depend on size of passion fruit.) Beat well.
Source : "The Australian Women's Weekly Home Library, Cooking ClassCookbook, p. 67"; Copyright: "(c) ACP 1992"
Instead of Passionfruit icing, try this:
1 c powdered sugar
3/4 ts hot water
1 oz unsweetened chocolate melted
Combine sugar and water to make a thin glaze. Spread glaze on top pastry piece. Before glaze dries, using a toothpick, drizzle chocolate into thin lines the length of the pastry, about 1/2-inch apart. Draw pick across lines, alternating from side to side, to give a rippled effect [feathering].