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...

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.

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