“If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older.” ~ Tom Stoppard
This week’s offering for my ‘Slice Extravaganza’ series – recipes taken from the hallowed Family Recipe Book – is known simply as ‘Nicole’s Fruit Slice’. Why? When I was a little girl it was my absolute favourite, and I never tired of it.
It has a moist biscuit base, a luscious tangy fruit filling with a hint of cinnamon and lemon and a sweet glace icing to top it off.
I would race home from primary school with my little brother and sister in tow, find the big old key under one of the potplants beside the laundry, unlock the back door, get everyone out of uniforms and into play clothes and then we would sit and have afternoon tea at the table in the kitchen before we did our homework. One glass of cordial each, or milk if there was plenty, and a piece of slice. (Often, we ate two..)
I am still quite partial to pink icing. Especially on cupcakes. But that’s a whole other story. As you can see from the picture below, food appreciation and daydreaming has been a big part of my life since I was small! You will also see that I avoided eating crusts, on account of them making your hair go curly.
Base Ingredients:
1 x cup of plain flour (all purpose flour), 3/4 cup of rolled oats, 1/2 cup of lightly packed soft brown sugar, 1/2 cup (4 oz or 125 grams) butter cut into cubes
*Note – for vegans, use a vegetable butter substitute. If you’re gluten intolerant, this works fine with a commercial gluten-free flour mix and coconut substituted for the oats. – Don’t pack this too tightly into the tin if using the gluten-free mixture.
Fruit Layer:
1 cup of dried currants, 1/2 cup of sultanas (golden raisins), finely grated zest of one lemon, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of cornflour, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 cup of water
Glace Icing (Frosting):
1 cup of icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar) 1 teaspoon of butter, 1 tablespoon of milk, pink food colouring
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.
Base:
Measure the dry ingredients into a large bowl and then rub in the butter with your fingertips. The mixture should resemble soft bread crumbs. Press the mixture firmly into the paper-lined tin, making sure to fill right to the edges.
Fruit Layer:
Place all ingredients in a saucepan and stir to combine, Keep stirring over moderate heat until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat and spoon evenly over slice base.
Place your slice into the oven and bake for 35 minutes, until the top is firm.
Glace Icing: (Frosting)
Mix the ingredients together in a bowl and beat until smooth. Colour a pleasing shade of pink. (Trust me – this is an issue of personal taste.) Place bowl over hot water until the icing is very runny and easy to spread. Pour over warm slice and spread to the edges.
Allow to cool in tin before removing. Cut into small squares. DO resist cutting before it cools, as slice takes a few hours to firm up and you’ll be left with a crumbly disaster! **Note – cooling can be hastened by placing in refrigerator…
Store in an airtight tin in a cool place. Goes exceptionally well with a cold glass of lemon cordial, milk or for the grown ups – hot French Earl Grey Tea!
Lovely picture of the young Nicole, and I think your hair looks beautiful. I’ve been eating crusts for years but my hair’s pretty straight. Your fruit slice looks very tasty, I was just thinking the other day that I’d like to make a fruit slice so I’ll have a go at your recipe, thank you.
Just wanted to report that I made your slice, albeit with a few tweaks (e.g. I didn’t have enough oats so I substituted wholemeal flour), and it is slipping down very nicely, thank you.
Beautiful photo and delicious fruit slice! Thank you for sharing, Nicole! Ps. Is it true about the crusts?!
Of course it’s true, Daisy. I ate crusts until I was at least three and by then it was too late. My beautiful straight hair was turned forever curly!!!!!!!!
No amount of avoidance after that has ever changed it to un-curly. I shall happily post you all my crusts if you need them. xoxo
Please do! My hair is stick straight and won’t take any curl at all. I will gladly take all your crusts off your hands 🙂
And of course I eat only the finest of breads. Shall throw in a few pizza crusts too for good measure 😛
Any crusts! Hair is very straight 🙂 Once I was a bridesmaid at a friend’s wedding. The hair person had a fit because my hair wasn’t holding a curl at all. I ended up with a head full of hairspray — not fun and not very attractive either!
So I’ll be taking those pizza crusts too 🙂
Meanwhile the rest of the Universe is pressing, ironing and hair tonging their curls into submission so that they are sleek and straight. Go figure…
People always want what they don’t have. I do have to say that the nice thing about such straight hair is that you don’t really have to do much to it to get ready . . . partly because you can’t really do much with it 😉
Love the tips to how to get to the eating part faster. I adore the pink icing but suspect for this household I’d go a golden yellow (my son is a yellow man – has been since he was a toddler). Thank you for sharing.
I shan’t tell you what we called yellow icing in our household….
I have been known to shove many a slice in the freeze to get them to that cut-able state FAST! LOL
Sigh 😀 xoxo
I can imagine a few! 😀 I still think it’s in part he’s such a Leo and the sun resonates so strongly with him (er, excepting it never seems to wake him up lol). The yellows are always, for food anyway, golden sun or that deep lemon yellow hues.
Plus, he can wear it. I wear it, I look like I have some type of liver condition. 🙂 lol
it’s PINK!!! woo hoo! such a cute photo of you! hugs sx :o)
I was ALWAYS in trouble for making the icing too pink when I was little. Now I seem to be unable to make it that pleasing shade of pale pale pink. Pink is my quiet act of rebellion…
mine too! when i was little (in the middle of five girls) – there were either purple girls or pink girls, i was quietly a pink girl among the purple! now out, pink and proud!! do you think it is possible to make things too pink?? sx ;o)
Of course not!!! 🙂