Vanilla slice
Vanilla slice
Puff, thick custard, icing — the bakery slab Australians will drive for. Also called a snot block, affectionately.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Vanilla slice.
0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Rest
- 4 hr
- Total
- 4 hr 50 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
A vanilla slice is two sheets of puff pastry with a firm vanilla custard thick enough to stand, iced with passionfruit or plain fondant. Bakery ones use a gelatine-set custard so the slice survives the bain-marie of a display fridge. This home version does too. It should be cold, neat, and slightly ridiculous to eat. An Australian bakery vanilla slice is two rectangles of baked puff pastry with a slab of vanilla custard thick enough to cut into squares, iced with fondant or passionfruit icing. It is not a French mille-feuille, which is usually lighter, often three sheets, and less of a custard brick. Bakery cabinets use gelatine or a heavy cornflour set so the slice survives a cold display. Chill hard. Cut with a hot wet knife. Passionfruit icing is one state religion; plain white or pink fondant is another.
Ingredients
- Puff pastry2 sheet
- Milk600 ml
- Egg, yolks4 large
- Sugar140 g
- Butter40 g
- Vanilla9.9 ml
- Icing sugar150 g
- Lemon, juice, for the icing15 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Bake puff sheets at 200°C under a second tray so they stay flat, 15 minutes. Cool. Trim to a tin.
20 min200°CStep 2
Custard: whisk yolks, sugar, cornflour. Heat milk, temper, cook until very thick. Butter, vanilla. Pour onto one pastry in a lined tin. Top with the second sheet. Chill 4 hours.
20 minStep 3
Ice with icing sugar and lemon (or passionfruit pulp). Chill 30 minutes. Cut with a hot wet knife.
10 min
Adapt this recipe
The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 10 October.
Substitutions
Puff pastry → Sponge sheets
A different, softer slice. Still custard.
Tips
- A teaspoon of gelatine in the hot custard is the bakery insurance policy.
- Passionfruit icing is the other religion.
History & culture
Every bakery has one. Victoria and New South Wales argue about icing. 'Snot block' is a loving insult. Every suburban bakery has one. 'Snot block' is Australian slang, affectionate and accurate when the custard squishes. People will drive for a particular shop's icing. New Zealand's custard square is a close cousin, not always the same icing. Eat it cold, from a paper bag, over a bin or a plate. It is a slice, not a plated dessert with coulis.
A cousin of the mille-feuille that Australia made rectangular and custard-heavy. A rectangular, custard-heavy Australian take on European puff-and-cream pastries, standardised by twentieth-century bakeries rather than by a single inventor. Mille-feuille is the French cousin; this is the cabinet slab. You are sandwiching set vanilla custard between puff and icing it. That is a vanilla slice. Do not sell it as Paris pastry.
Traditional
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.
How long does Vanilla slice take?
4 hr 50 min all in — 25 min prep, 25 min cook, 4 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 9 squares. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Eggs, Milk. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian.
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Oven, Saucepan.
How much salt do I put in?
This recipe does not list a salt amount. We will not invent one.
How much sugar?
140 g of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Puff pastry → Sponge sheets. A different, softer slice. Still custard.
Any tips from this recipe?
A teaspoon of gelatine in the hot custard is the bakery insurance policy. Passionfruit icing is the other religion.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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