Belgian slice

Growing up both in NZ and overseas, trips back to NZ to visit family were fun-filled occasions where my parents tried to introduce us to “kiwi” experiences we might have missed overseas. Trips to the bush and river, beach walks and visiting a dairy farm were particular highlights but, being a little glutton even at a young age, one particular highlight of our trips “back” was always the food we got to try. Jaffas, those pink sticky buns with coconut on top that you buy at Brumby’s or Baker’s Delight and, my absolute favourite: Ernest Adams Raspberry Slice.

While Ernest Adams’ Raspberry Slice still holds a special place in my heart (it’s so soft! the pink icing!), its position as “No. 1 Raspberry Slice” was overthrown a few years ago with my discovery that I could make Belgian Slice at home.

If you’ve only ever had storebought Belgian Slice, homemade is an absolute sensation. Softer and more moist than the bakery versions (and increasingly so over time), homemade Belgian Slice is also much more flavourful. The pillow-y and lightly spiced cake-y base, strong fruity jam and tangy lemon icing all combine to make a delicious afternoon tea treat.

Best of all, it’s an absolute cinch to make – giving you plenty of time to make modifications for the perfect Belgian slice.

Tips and tricks

There are a number of versions on the internet of this slice but this recipe is my go-to. With only 125g butter and 1 egg, it’s very easy to make in this time of lockdown! It’s also easy to put together, making it great for a “Take a plate” or other social event.

Some thoughts about the recipe:

Jam

This recipe does not include jam on top of the slice, which is frankly an abomination. To include jam and make a “true” Belgian slice, simply spread over a thick-ish layer of jam (1/2 cup is about right) and bake on top of the slice. (Don’t worry – the oven should not be hot enough that your jam burns.) Although I have seen some recipes which place the jam between two layers of slice, this is not only more fiddly but also does not taste as good! In my humble opinion, you want the jam to be a moist layer between the spicy base and the lemon-y icing.

In terms of what kind of jam, I am personally a big fan of a darker fruit jam such as plum jam. I would not advise strawberry jam (too sweet). Raspberry is acceptable in a pinch, but I would pick something with a bit of body: you want the jam to form a thick fruity layer, not just a layer of fruit flavoured toffee.

Spices

I ran out of mixed spice so did 1 tsp mixed spice, 1/2 tsp cardamom, 1/4 tsp cloves and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. I found that the cardamom added a pleasant warmth to the slice, but my preference would probably be for traditional mixed spice.

Icing

This recipe refers to “white icing”. My usual preference is for a strongly lemon-y icing, made out of icing sugar, lemon juice and a little boiling water (the boiling water makes the icing look shiny). It is ideal to have the icing as tangy as possible, as this stops the slice being overly sweet and really accentuates the fruity flavour of the jam. I also prefer to have my icing pink, ideally luridly pink, because it makes it look prettier 🙂

For my icing for this recipe, I had no lemons so made an icing out of icing sugar, orange juice, raspberry gel essence (available in the supermarekts in the essence/food colouring section), pink food colouring and boiling water. Although the icing was a little sweeter than ideal, I thought the orange/raspberry flavour complimented the flavours of the slice nicely.

When preparing the icing, it pays to keep in mind that the slice is already fairly sweet… so go easy on the icing! Less is more. A slight crackly layer is all that is required.

Sprinkle

Commercially Belgian slice often comes with raspberry jelly crystals/sweetened sugar sprinkled on top.

To be quite honest, I’ve never seen the point of this. The slice is usually sweet enough without extra sugar – my preference is instead usually to leave the top plain or, if you have this available, sprinkle some freeze dried berries on top. This adds a pop of flavour and makes it look beautiful!

Thoughts and conclusions

Homemade Blegian slice is forever in my heart as one of NZ’s best recipes! Although it can’t be frozen (owing to the icing), it keeps for a few days and gets more moist and flavoursome with each passing day. Yum!