Venetian vanilla slice

Method

• Step 1
  Preheat an oven to 200°C. Grease a 26cmx18cm slice pan. Line with baking paper, allowing the paper to overhang the sides.
• Step 2
  Dust a flat surface with a tablespoon of caster sugar and place a sheet of puff on top. Dust the pastry with another tablespoon of sugar then place the second sheet on top. Dust with a 3rd tablespoon of sugar. Using a rolling pin, roll out to a rectangle at least 2cm wider and longer than your slice tin.
• Step 3
  Place on a baking paper lined baking tray, cover with a sheet of baking paper and place a second baking tray on top. Fill the top tray with pie weights, rice or dried beans and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the top tray and return to the oven to cook for a further 5 minutes or until cooked through. Leave to cool before trimming to size and inserting into the slice pan. Note: if the pastry puffs up too much in the last 5 minutes of cooking, once cooled, simply place the weighted tray back on top and press down to compress the pastry.
• Step 4
  Place custard powder, corn flour and sugar in a medium saucepan, add ½ cup of milk and mix to form a smooth paste. Stir in remaining milk, place over a medium-high heat and bring to the boil, stirring continouosly. Cook for 2 minutes, remove from heat and stir through the chocolate until smooth. Cool slightly, stirring occasionally, then whisk in cream.
• Step 5
  Spoon custard over the pastry, smoothing to the edges. Top with a layer of biscuits and refrigerate for 4 hours or until set.
• Step 6
  Use a sharp knife to cut the slice into even pieces.