You know how something niggles in the back of your mind till something has to be done about it? Such was the case with Banbury slice, briefly discussed in a radio segment a week or two ago.

I made some few days later, a rather large tray full. It’s proven very popular with family, friends and neighbours. This is all that’s left, a few edge pieces.

Therefore, I thought you might like the recipe

If you prefer, you could skip the step of making your own pastry and simple use puff pastry sheets instead. Alternatively, you could make and use shortcrust pastry instead.

However, I love the homemade rough puff pastry, which has a lovely crunch.

Banbury Slice

For the rough puff pastry

250g plain flour

¼ teaspoon salt

Tiny pinch of cream of tartar (optional)

250g chilled butter, cut into 2cm cubes

1 egg yolk

125ml very cold water

For the filling

400g currants

Water

Juice 1 lemon

Finely grated zest 1 lemon

1 teaspoon mixed spice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Sugar to taste (about ¼ cup is usually sufficient)

3 teaspoons cornflour mixed to a thin paste with 2 tablespoons cold water

METHOD

To make the pastry, place the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and then add the butter cubes. Pulse for 4 seconds. Shake the processor bowl to ensure even distribution of ingredients, and then pulse for 3 seconds more. The cubes of butter should now be mostly 1 cm in size.

Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl. Whisk the egg yolk and water together separately, then drizzle this over the butter/flour mixture until it comes together.

Turn the mixture out onto a floured surface – it will be a bit scraggy but that’s ok, just push together as best you can (briefly, so as not to warm the mixture with heat from your hands), shaping into a rectangle.

Sprinkle with just a little flour and roll out to a rectangle about 10mm thick.

Fold top third down and then bottom third up over it, kind of envelope style. Turn the dough around 90 degrees and repeat the process, always making sure the edges are straight, this time rolling out thinner. Repeat twice more, then wrap the pastry in cling film or similar, and refrigerate for at least 40 minutes, preferably more.

To make the filling, place the currants, lemon juice and zest and spices in a saucepan with enough water to just cover them. Bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add sugar to taste, then, with mixture still simmering, stir in the cornflour paste and cook 2 minutes more. Cool completely.

To assemble

Grease a Swiss Roll tin 25 x 35cm approximately, making sure it is 2.5 cm deep. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C, fan forced.

Cut pastry in half. On a lightly floured surface 9and lightly dusting the top with flour), roll the pastry out to fit the tin.

Spoon on the cooled filling and spread out to cover pastry evenly.

Roll out the other piece of pastry to fit on top. Trim edges.

Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 170 degrees and bake for 15 to 20 minutes more or until the pastry is browned. Cool completely before cutting into squares to serve.