This slice, with a peanut butter and white chocolate icing and decorated with chopped nuts and pretzels, is so simple and quick to make.
The biscuit base includes dates, thread coconut and crushed biscuits, all bound together with a buttery condensed milk mixture. I find myself coming back to this recipe time and time again, as it never fails to please everyone. (Plus sweetened condensed milk makes pretty much anything taste good!) This slice travels well, so I usually make it when we are going away up North or to post down to my friend Lily in Wanaka. Instead of dates, you could use dried apricots or even dried cranberries. However, dates do tend to go best with the peanut butter in my opinion.
For the biscuit base
- 375g plain biscuits, crushed to a rough crumb
- 1½ cups dried dates, pitted and chopped
- 1 cup thread coconut
- 150g butter, cubed
- 395g can sweetened condensed milk
- pinch of salt
For the peanut butter icing
- ⅓ cup smooth peanut butter
- 250g white chocolate
To decorate
- 50g chopped almonds or peanuts handful of roughly chopped pretzels.
Method
Grease a 20cm x 26cm slice tin and line with baking paper. Set aside.
To make the biscuit base, toss together the crushed biscuits, dates and coconut in a large bowl. Set aside
In a small saucepan over a medium heat, combine the butter, condensed milk and salt, and heat until all the butter is melted. Bring to a simmer over a medium-high heat and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and pour over the biscuit mix. Using two large spoons, toss all the ingredients together until evenly coated. Spoon into the prepared tin and press down firmly to flatten. Refrigerate while you make the icing.
To make the peanut butter icing, put the peanut butter in a small bowl and set aside. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave or in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Once fully melted, add to the peanut butter and stir to combine.
Spread the icing over the slice in an even layer and sprinkle over the chopped nuts and pretzels. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes until firm and the icing is set, then cut into squares. This slice will keep for up to a week stored at room temperature, or two weeks if kept in the fridge.
Extracted from Melie’s Kitchen by Amelia Ferrier, published by Random House NZ, RRP: $40.00. Photography by Tam West.
