Nan's Vanilla Slice

Looking back through my childhood, this was one of my most favourite treats. Nan's Vanilla Slice was always something to look forward to and was a common visitor to birthdays and family get-togethers.

This recipe is very simple and I believe is even better than the vanilla slice variations found at bakeries in Australia. Instead of fiddling around with pastry, it uses Arnott's Lattice pastry biscuits with a sugary sweet cream cheese filling. Just writing about it makes my mouth water!

Ingredients for Nan's Vanilla Slice
2 packets of Arnott's Lattice biscuits
250g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
250g cream cheese (I use Philadelphia Cream Cheese) (at room temperature)
2tsp vanilla extract/essence
1tbsp powered gelatine
1/2 cup caster sugar
A little icing sugar for dusting

Line the bottom of a lamington or slice tray with baking paper. Once done, place the Lattice biscuits along the bottom (making sure the glossy side faces down). The biscuits won't fit perfectly so you might have to cut a few around the edges.

Dissolve the gelatin in 1/2 cup of hot water, stir and put it aside to cool. Mix together the butter and cream cheese using a fork or spoon. It is very important that both ingredients are at room temperature otherwise you will have trouble trying to get it smooth.

Add sugar and vanilla and mix well. Again make sure there are no lumps, as they will set when the slice is refrigerated. Stir through cooled gelatine.

Before pouring the mixture over the face-down Lattice biscuits, take note of how the biscuits are positioned (i.e. where the off-cuts are). This way the bottom and top biscuits will be line with each other when you go to cut through the finished product. Pour mixture into the tin and carefully lay Lattice biscuits on top, glossy side up. Refridgerate for 2 hours and dust with icing sugar before serving.