Vanilla slice
Vanilla Slice served in a Tasmanian bakery
Alternative namesPus pie, snot-block, snot-box, snot-brick, phlegm sandwich, phlegm slice, phlegm cake[1]
TypePastry
CourseDessert
Place of origin Australia
Main ingredientsPuff pastry, custard, powdered sugar

Vanilla slice is an Australian pastry comprising a thick layer of vanilla custard sandwiched between puff pastry and topped with icing sugar or thinly iced. Similar varieties of the dessert exist in Europe and North America, and it is believed to have evolved from one of the many European varieties.[2][3]

History

Vanilla slice is an Australian variation of many similar desserts comprising vanilla custard and flaky pastry.[2] Most notably this includes the Mille-feuille, which is believed to have originated in France.[3] Other similar pastries include the Dutch Tompouce, Polish Napoleonka, German Cremeschnitte, Balkan and Middle Eastern Galaktoboureko, among others. It is believed that the Australian vanilla slice emerged as a variety of one of these similar desserts, but it is unknown which variety or varieties evolved into the modern vanilla slice.[2][3]

Culture

Vanilla slice is strongly ingrained within Australian "bakery culture", commonly featuring in bakeries across the nation. [3] In keeping with the informality and disdain for pretence of Australian vernacular, it is usual for the dessert to be referred to using crude names based on bodily fluids such as pus, phlegm, or nasal mucus which are similar in appearance to the custard filling. This includes names such as pus pie, snot-block, snot-box, snot-brick, phlegm sandwich, phlegm slice, phlegm cake.[1][2]

To celebrate its cultural significance, an annual competition known as the Great Australian Vanilla Slice Triumph has been held since 1998.[4] The event began after Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett visited the Victorian town of Ouyen, and considered the local bakery to make the best vanilla slice in Australia. [2] From then the event was hosted annually in Ouyen until 2001, when it moved to the nearby town of Merbein.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Snot block". Macquarie Dictionary. Macmillan Publishers Australia. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e Van Dyk, Garritt C (2023-12-25). "As Aussie as vanilla slice: how the delicate European dessert became the snot block of Aussie bakeries". The Conversation. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  3. ^ a b c d Noone, Yasmin (2019-12-06). "Around the world in vanilla slice". SBS Food. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  4. ^ "The Great Australian Vanilla Slice Triumph". The Great Australian Vanilla Slice Triumph. Merbein, Victoria, Australia. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
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