“Cooking is not about being the best or most perfect cook, but rather it is about sharing the table with family and friends.” ~ Skye Gyngell, My Favorite Ingredients
This is an old recipe that my Nana copied out from her friend Dulcie, after a successful ‘War Wives Luncheon’ during World War Two. At least that was the memorable annotation she jotted at the bottom of the piece of paper the recipe is written on. As a child I would ask Nana over and over to tell me about that Luncheon in Sydney, and she would remind me how hard it was to make tasty food with all of the rationing and restrictions. Dulcie’s slice had been a real winner.
As a child I painstakingly copied the same recipe into the Family Recipe Book. Each time I make this I think of my Nana and her friends, sitting drinking cups of tea, eating slice and chatting during the long days of the War, with the rations and limitations and hardships.
There’s a lot of comfort to be had in a cup of tea and a slice.
Base Ingredients:
1 x cup of self raising flour (self-rising for my USA friends or 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1 and 1/2 x teaspoons baking powder and a pinch of salt, sifted together), 1 x cup of unsweetened desiccated coconut, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup (4 oz or 125 grams) melted butter, finely grated zest of one lemon.
*Note – If you’re gluten intolerant, this works fine with a commercial gluten-free flour mix.
Method:
Preheat oven to moderate (160 degree celcius fan-forced or 180 degree oven – 350 degrees fahrenheit).
Line a 28cm x 18cm (7 inch by 11 inch) slice tin with some baking paper.
Measure the dry ingredients into a large bowl and then mix through the melted butter. The mixture should be moist and crumbly.
Press the base into the tin, being careful not to press down too heavily. (If you compact the base too much it becomes very hard to cut after it has cooked.)
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the top is nicely golden.
Remove from oven and cool completely. (This step is essential!)
Topping:
1 x 395g can of sweetened condensed milk, 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice, pulp of 3 passionfruit.
Heat oven to moderate (160 degree celcius fan-forced or 180 degree oven – 350 degrees fahrenheit), and then just before you pop the slice back in, knock the temperature back to 140 degrees for your fan forced oven or equivalent.
Whisk the condensed milk, lemon juice and passionfruit pulp together. The mixture will thicken from the acidity of the lemon juice. At this stage you should taste it… (Okay, I made that bit up, but who can resist?)
Pour the passionfruit topping over the biscuit base and smooth over until you have a good coverage.
Bake in the slow oven for twenty minutes. The topping should be firm to your touch, and pale golden.
Remove from oven and cool completely. Store in refrigerator in a hot climate, or if you are not eating this all in one day. To serve, cut into small squares.
