San Sebastian, Hampton
Once described by The Age newspaper as ‘Melbourne’s Dirty Little Secret’ this monster lay like a dormant giant in foot long slabs behind glass at the counter. Nearly two inches high this was a sight that would either arouse or menace depending on your disposition. A square was cut from one of the mother slices and we sat in awe of San Sebastian’s famous Vanilla Slice. This is not a sweet fancy to tackle with the hands but is manageable with a cake fork. The filling is a sugary whipped vanilla cream with a faint flavour of egg, the pastry a buttery puff. Icing is redundant. The thick dusting of icing sugar is more than adequate. As light as air, the beast disappears quickly. Not so menancing now, though if you’ve been counting calories you’re likely to leave feeling slightly ’dirty’.
¦ Icing ♥♥♥♥ ¦ Pastry ♥♥♥♥ ¦ Custard ♥♥♥♥ ¦ Degree of difficulty ♥♥♥♥ ¦ TOTAL 16/20
San Sebastian, 303 Hampton Street, Hampton, Victoria, Australia. Ph +613 9533 4755
Mmm, I like the look of this one!
This vanilla slice is a slice of heaven for those who like theirs with a filling that is more whipped cream than custard.
For those like me who prefer an English style thick custard, it comes as across as overtly sexy and not the Mumsy slab of comfort that you might expect. I did - to my surprise - like this naughty little number however.
in a past life, i waitress-ed and barista-ed at san sebastian. folks would come in and order it by the slab-ful… i’m cursing myself not getting my mitts on the recipe now!!!
oh and i’ve also tried the vanilla slice in sorrento - also great! has a lovely thin layer of strawberry (?) jam at the bottom, nice and creamy custard.