Every trestle table in the 1980s had one of these slices on it. No one remembers asking for it — it just turned up, wedged between the party pies and the lamingtons, wrapped in foil, at every barbecue, wake, school fete and Christmas do. There was always someone who brought it to absolutely everything, and it was always the first plate to empty. Nearly all of us made a version of it at some point too. It deserves documenting properly, because a piece of Australian food history shouldn’t just fade out with the tins of sweetened condensed milk it was built on.

7 LAYER CONDENSED MILK SLICE – long live the eighties

Ingredients

  • 250g packet butternut snap biscuits
  • 100g salted butter, softened
  • 150g (1 cup) white choc bits
  • 70g (1 cup) moist coconut flakes
  • 120g (1 cup) pitted dried dates, chopped
  • 150g (1 cup) roasted salted peanuts
  • 395g tin sweetened condensed milk

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 170°C fan-forced. Grease a 30 x 20cm slice tin and line the base and sides with baking paper.
  2. Process 250g butternut snap biscuits and 100g softened butter in a food processor until it resembles wet sand. No processor? Crush the biscuits in a plastic bag with a rolling pin, then work through the butter by hand.
  3. Press the biscuit mixture firmly into the base of the tin — clean hands or the base of a drinking glass both do the job.
  4. Scatter 150g white choc bits over the base, then 70g coconut flakes, then 120g chopped dates, then 150g peanuts. Pour the 395g tin of condensed milk evenly over the top.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes, or until pale golden on top. Cool completely, then chill in the fridge for around 2 hours before slicing into squares.

Notes

You’ll see this floating around under the name “7 Layer Slice.” Count it properly and it’s six — biscuit base, choc bits, coconut, dates, peanuts, condensed milk. We’re calling it what it is.

Swap in gingersnap biscuits with dried apricots and walnuts, or dark choc bits with dried cranberries and slivered almonds — same method, different flavour. For a nut-free version, swap the peanuts for a cup of Nutrigrain, cornflakes or crushed Salada crackers.

Keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Freezes well too.