Apple Custard Streusel Slice

Makes 16 pieces







Pastry
1 and 1/4 cups (155g) plain flour
1 Tb caster sugar
80g butter, melted and cooled
1 egg yolk

Apple Custard Topping
3 green apples
20g butter
4 Tb caster sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup thick cream
1 tsp vanilla essence

Crumble Topping
1/2 cup plain flour
2 Tb dark brown sugar
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts (or pecans)
60g butter, melted

Lightly grease an 18 x 28 cm shallow tin and line with baking paper, overhanging two opposite sides.

To make the pastry, sift the flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add the melted butter, egg yolk and 2-3 Tb of water and mix until it comes together.
Roll out the dough between two sheets of baking paper to fit the base of the tin. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 190 C.
Line the pastry base with baking beads or uncooked rice or beans. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beads, reduce oven temperature to 180C and bake for 5 minutes, or until golden (it does not have to be competely cooked or hard at this stage). Leave to cool.

To make the apple custard topping, peel, core and chop the apples and place in a saucepan with the butter, half the sugar and 2 Tb of water. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes, or until soft and pulpy. Uncover and simmer for another 5 minutes, to reduce the liquid. Use a wooden spoon to break down the apples until they have a smooth texture. Leave to cool.

Whisk together the eggs, cream, remaining sugar and vanilla essence in a mixing bowl (hand whisk is fine). Spread the cooled apple mixture over the pastry and then carefully pour the cream mixture over the apple. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the custard has set.

To make the crumble topping, mix together the flour, brown sugar and walnuts in a mixing bowl. Stir in the melted butter until the mixture is crumbly (I found this was too much butter so I ended up adding more flour and sugar). Sprinkle the crumble over the custard and bake for 15 minutes. Leave to cool in the tin nbefore slicing.

Grublover comment
This slice is a real winner - absolutely delicious. It will store for up to a week if refrigerated in an airtight container.
As you can see I didn’t have an 18×28cm tin so I used a round tart tin - worked fine.