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A vanilla slice with chocolate feathering. Made by Jason Spencer from Banana Boogie Bakery in Belair in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia. December 2017
‘From the moment I took it out of its paper bag, I knew this vanilla slice was something special.’ Photograph: Jolene Laverty
‘From the moment I took it out of its paper bag, I knew this vanilla slice was something special.’ Photograph: Jolene Laverty

How my summer road trip turned into the Great Vanilla Slice Taste Test

This article is more than 6 years old

Jolene Laverty devoured every vanilla slice she could find between Canberra and the Adelaide Hills. But did she find Australia’s best?

I’ve started a summer fling with an old love of mine, and it has been utterly delicious. The relationship was rekindled during a long car journey between Canberra and the Adelaide Hills in the small town of Balranald in the Riverina district of New South Wales. My husband Tim was driving, our two small children were in the back seat – and I had in my hands the first vanilla slice I’d bought in years.

From the moment I took it out of its paper bag, I knew this vanilla slice was something special. The pastry was a glorious oven-baked brown, the custard was the sunshine yellow of fresh egg yolks, and it smelled like real vanilla. There were layers of thinly sliced almonds resting snugly between the custard and its protective pastry. This vanilla slice was one of the best I’ve ever had. I wondered if it could possibly be beaten, and so embarked on what has come to be known as the Great Vanilla Slice Taste Test.

‘The pastry was a glorious oven-baked brown, the custard was the sunshine yellow of fresh egg yolks, and it smelled like real vanilla.’ Photograph: Jolene Laverty

The vanilla slice has changed a lot in the years since I first had one as a child during school holidays at Dad’s workshop. To keep me quiet for an extra 15 minutes, Dad always got me a vanilla slice when the smoko truck rocked up with its many delights for workers. Those vanilla slices were bright yellow with pink icing, wrapped together so tightly their square edges became rounded and squished. They were amazing.

Today, just as it was for the smoko van, the vanilla slice is big business. This is especially true for many small towns, which rely on its bakeries to attract travellers to the main street. Many will go out of their way to travel through a town with a great bakery, which is how our family road trip ended up in the agricultural township of Ouyen in the Mallee region of Victoria.

Ouyen’s Mallee bakery boasts a bold yellow sign which welcomes you to the “home of the vanilla slice”. The bakery itself is massive, and its range of baked goods would rival any big-city bakery. It was hard not to get distracted by the other delicious-looking treats, but I had come for the vanilla slice.

The custard was so pale it was almost white, and with its thick white icing it looked a bit anaemic. The knife wasn’t able to get through the dense pastry without making the custard bulge out the sides. The slice’s casing was disappointing, but the custard itself was incredible. It had a superior vanilla bean flavour, which was creamy and delicious. While the colour may have been bland, the flavour was anything but.

‘While the colour may have been bland, the flavour was anything but.’ Photograph: Jolene Laverty

The reputation of a great vanilla slice travels fast, and is aided by the likes of Gary Lum. Medical doctor by day and amateur food reviewer at other times, Lum knows what he likes in a vanilla slice – which he says is “an Australian legend” – and he’s reviewed several for his blog. According to Lum:

The pastry should be thin, but not so flaky that when you bite it, it cracks and creates a flaky snow storm. I’m not a fan of the white icing with chocolate swirls. That sort of fanciness has no place on a vanilla slice.

I disagree with Lum on that front. I love flaky pastry on a vanilla slice, and chocolate drizzles just make it even tastier. The absolute best vanilla slice of our recent road trip came from Belair in the Adelaide Hills, in a small but bustling bakery that has made it a mecca for vanilla slice pilgrims. The custard is thick and creamy, with a good vanilla taste. The pastry is crisp and has the texture of the lovely end bits of a croissant, a skill the baker learned during his apprenticeship under a French pastry maker.

Jason Spencer, the baker and owner of Banana Boogie, explains that the swirls are called feathering, and they can mean the difference between winning and losing big vanilla slice competitions.

Behind the scenes at the Banana Boogie bakery as Jason Spencer makes his famous vanilla slice

“The first year we entered a competition the top placegetters all had chocolate feathering,” he told me. “Ours was plain, so we decided to try feathering the following year. Of course, the judges didn’t like chocolate feathering that year, so all the winners had plain icing! It’s very subjective.”

Since I’ve been on the Great Vanilla Slice Taste Test, I’ve had so many people tell me where they think the BEST vanilla slice can be found. Mostly, they’re in tiny outback towns or can be found in pokey little suburban shops. It has been a great reminder that the most marvellous treats are waiting to be discovered by those who are willing to stop and look around.

  • What do you think makes a good vanilla slice? And where is Australia’s best? Tell us in the comments – we may use some responses in a separate column

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