Vegan Vanilla Custard Slice

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180C (356°F) and line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Place one piece of pastry on each tray, place another piece of baking paper on top of the pastries, followed with another tray on top of each one. This will ensure that the pastry won’t rise too much. You can also do this one at a time. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes (or as the packet instructions say) until golden and crispy. Let cool completely. Cut each piece down to the size of a 20cm square pan.

Step 2

Line the 20cm square pan with baking paper. Make sure there’s plenty of baking paper on the edges to be able to take out the slice when it’s set. Place a piece of pastry on the bottom of the pan and set aside.

Step 3

Off the heat, pour the almond milk into a large pot. Add the cornflour and whisk until smooth. Add in the rest of the ingredients (except for the icing sugar) and place the pot on medium to high heat.

Step 4

Make sure to stir regularly, I like to use a heat resistant silicone spatula for this. The custard will start to form first on the bottom, when you notice this happening, give it a whisk to make sure the custard stays smooth (continue to whisk now and then). When it starts to thicken, turn down the heat to low. Still stirring regularly, keep cooking until it’s a thick custard consistency (it's really important that it's thick or it might not set firm enough). Mine takes about 8 to 10 minutes.

Step 5

Pour the custard onto the pastry base and place the other piece of pastry on top (refer to notes for another option). Let cool for 10 minutes before refrigerating for at least 4 hours.

Step 6

If you like, top with icing sugar before cutting into slices. I've found using a serrated knife works best.