{{short description|Australian pastry}} {{use dmy dates|date=April 2025}} {{use Australian English|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox food | name = Vanilla slice | image = Vanille Slice Australia.jpg | caption = Vanilla slice served in a Tasmanian bakery | alternate_name = Snot block, snot brick, phlegm cake, pus pie<ref name="AussieVS"/> | country = {{AUS}} | course = Dessert | type = Pastry | main_ingredient = Puff pastry, custard, powdered sugar }}
'''Vanilla slice''' is an Australian pastry comprising a thick layer of vanilla custard sandwiched between puff pastry and topped with icing sugar or a thin layer of icing. Similar varieties of the dessert exist in Europe and North America, and it is believed to have evolved from one of the similar European desserts.<ref name="AussieVS">{{cite news |last=Van Dyk |first=Garritt C |date=2023-12-25 |title=As Aussie as vanilla slice: how the delicate European dessert became the snot block of Aussie bakeries |url=https://theconversation.com/as-aussie-as-vanilla-slice-how-the-delicate-european-dessert-became-the-snot-block-of-aussie-bakeries-214378 |work=The Conversation |access-date=2024-01-19}}</ref><ref name="AroundWorld">{{cite news |last=Noone |first=Yasmin |date=2019-12-06 |title=Around the world in vanilla slice |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/around-the-world-in-vanilla-slice/7zhmkpcgk |work=SBS Food |access-date=2024-01-19}}</ref>
==History== Vanilla slice is an Australian variation of many similar desserts comprising vanilla custard and flaky pastry.<ref name="AussieVS"/> Most notably this includes the ''Mille-feuille'', which is believed to have originated in France.<ref name="AroundWorld"/> Other similar pastries include the Dutch ''Tompouce'', Polish ''Napoleonka'', German ''Cremeschnitte'', Balkan and Middle Eastern ''Galaktoboureko'', among others. It is believed that the Australian vanilla slice emerged as a variety of one of these similar desserts, but it is unknown which variety or varieties evolved into the modern vanilla slice.<ref name="AussieVS"/><ref name="AroundWorld"/>
==Culture== Vanilla slice is strongly ingrained within Australian "bakery culture", commonly featuring in bakeries across the nation.<ref name="AroundWorld"/> In keeping with the informality and disdain for pretence in Australian vernacular, it is common to refer to the dessert using colloquial names based on bodily fluids such as pus, phlegm, or nasal mucus which are similar in appearance to the custard filling. This includes names such as snot block, snot brick, phlegm cake, or pus pie.<ref name="AussieVS"/>
To celebrate its cultural significance, an annual competition known as ''The Great Australian Vanilla Slice Triumph'' has been held since 1998.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |title=The Great Australian Vanilla Slice Triumph |url=https://www.thegreataustralianvanillaslicetriumphmerbein.com/ |access-date=21 January 2024 |website=The Great Australian Vanilla Slice Triumph |location=Merbein, Victoria, Australia}}</ref> The event began after Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett visited the Victorian town of Ouyen, and considered the local bakery to make the best vanilla slice in Australia.<ref name="AussieVS"/> The event was hosted annually in Ouyen until 2001, when it moved to the nearby town of Merbein.
==See also== {{Portal|Food}} * List of Australian desserts * List of custard desserts
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Australian cuisine}}
Category:Australian desserts Category:Custard desserts Category:Pastries Category:Puff pastry