Grandma’s Raspberry Slice

Having lived in Brisbane for a good 6 months now, I was, naturally, missing Melbourne a little. Luckily I had two of the best cures to hand last weekend; a visit from a good friend (Mel) and the recipe for a favourite childhood treat. My Grandmother’s raspberry slice is delicious, easy to make and keeps well. She still makes it fairly regularly and I will admit to enjoying it as much now as I did on weekend visits to Ararat as a child.
So, I gave her a ring, had a chat and got the recipe from her (thanks Grandma!) in time for Mel’s visit. It is very 50’s-era Australian and therefore contains only ingredients you are likely to have in your pantry/fridge. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Ingredients:
Base

• 225g plain flour
• 113g butter (softened, at room temperature)
• 90g white sugar
• a tablespoon or two of milk (if required)
• Good raspberry jam (about 1/2 a cup, adjust to suit your tin)

Topping

• 90g desiccated coconut
• 2 eggs
• 90g white sugar

Firstly, grease and line a slice tin (30 x 20 x 3cm approximately) and pre-heat your oven to 175° (fan-forced).

Next cream the butter and sugar together and then add in the flour until a thick dough forms. If your dough is not malleable enough, add a spoon of milk (or two) and work in, as needed.

Press the dough out into the slice tin, with great patience! I was warned that this is the most trying step in making the slice and indeed it was. You might notice that our base here was quite wet; my Grandmother gave me the recipe in imperial measurements and I converted them (incorrectly!) to metric. Next time I make this I will update with a picture of the base as it should be.

When you have the base covering the tin, spread the jam over the base, generously, but take care to avoid creating holes or craters in the base. If you are lucky enough to have a great home-made raspberry jam to use here (thanks Mel!) it will make this slice even better.

Setting the base aside momentarily, in a clean bowl, beat the eggs until light and frothy, then add the coconut and mix and finally add the sugar. This will be a very wet mixture; simply pour over the top of the jam

Now pop the slice carefully in the oven and leave to bake for 15 – 20 minutes until golden brown on top. A skewer in the middle should come out clean (except for a little jam). Leave to cool in the pan completely before removing.

It will smell amazing and fill your house with the aroma of domestic-bliss however refrain from trying the slice until it is cool. The flavours are much richer at room temperature than when it is straight out of the oven. It is a bit unique in this way.

Despite my mis-calculation with the conversions, the slice came out as delicious and moist as ever – to my mind a sign of a great recipe. I suppose you could make it with other jams but certainly I would avoid fresh fruit here, it would be too wet for the base. As I said earlier, it keeps really well in an air-tight container and is something easily whipped up with things you already have in your kitchen.

Next to melting moments, these were the quintessential treats of my childhood and I would highly recommend them for any morning tea (at work or home!), general consumption around the house and even a cake stall at school.

Thanks again to my Grandmother, Pat, for sharing her recipe with me – and my blog readers!