How to make: Apple and Sour Cream Slice

I don’t do a lot of baking.

And when I do, I don’t eat it. Strange but true.

The thing is, I don’t like the after taste that anything with sugar leaves in my mouth. Again, strange but true.

The other reason I don’t do a lot of baking is the whole measuring thing. Baking is much more of a chemical process than most other cooking. As such, recipes and quantities generally need to be followed. I tend to prefer recipes to be more of a jumping off point.

I also can’t be faffed with having to ice cakes, I refuse to pipe anything and rolling out and cutting shapes from dough annoys me.

What I do like about baking is the way it makes me feel- it takes me back to my years in country towns. Regardless of the amount of sugar, butter and cream used, there’s something about home baking that feels so wholesome.

This particular slice doesn’t look pretty.

It’s rustic, there’s no fancy twirls or lashings of chocolate…it’s just good, tasty, home baking.

More importantly for those of us with less patience than others, it doesn’t require anything fancier than a bowl, a wooden spoon and a grater to make- and less washing up is always a good thing.

This recipe comes from Matthew Evans, an ex chef and Sydney based food critic who has taken the ultimate in tree changes and relocated to a farm in Tasmania where he goes right back to basics- sourcing suppliers and ingredients either from his own land or locally. I like that.

If you can, check out his cookbooks– Winter on the Farm is my favourite…

Anyways, here is the recipe:

The things you need:

• 200g Self Raising Flour (although, the first time I made this slice, I used the wrong flour and it worked perfectly well…)
• 150g caster sugar
• 90g desiccated coconut
• 125g unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 300g sour cream
• 2 granny smith apples
• 2tbsp brown sugar

What you to do with it:

• Pre-heat oven to 160C.
• Grease and line a 25cm square cake pan in the usual way
• For the base: mix together the flour, coconut, caster sugar. Add the butter and vanilla and stir well. Press it into the base of your cake tin. I like to use the back of a spoon to make sure it is good & firm.
• Bake for 20 mins or until light golden. Allow it to cool completely. This bit is important. Increase the temperature to 180C.
• Mix together the eggs and sour cream until smooth. Set aside.
• Peel and grate the apples. I pop them into a sieve so the juice strains out- you only need the fruit. This can only be done immediately before you need it as the apples go brown and manky (ie oxidise) quickly.
• Spread the apples over the base, scatter over the brown sugar and then top with the sour cream mixture.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until the top has set and is starting to colour. Cool completely before cutting into squares.