Fruit slice also goes by the more grisly (less vegan) name of ‘fly cemetery’, which does nothing to convey the true character of this lovely soft shortcake filled with lightly spiced fruit. It is superficially descriptive, though: everyone knows which cake you mean, even if they haven’t come across the term before.
This vegan fruit slice is made with an almond pastry, which is a little softer than ordinary shortcake pastry. It’s still crispy on top, though, and made crispier with a sprinkling of caster sugar before baking.
The filling is a mixture of sultanas apple and currants, spiced with cinnamon and a touch of cloves – essentially, a simple, less acidic (and suet-less) version of mincemeat.
The shortcake casing is soft, and not the easiest thing to manoeuvre in its unbaked state, but it is very easy to patch and smooth over with a knife if it falls to pieces en route to the tin.
This recipe will make nine good-sized squares in a seven inch square baking tin.
vegan fruit slice…
ingredients
for the filling
- 120 g apple (cored weight – one good-sized apple)
- 200 g sultanas
- 50 g currants
- 1 tsp lemon zest plus 2 tbsp juice
- 35 g dark brown sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp cornflour
for the shortcake
- 75 g plain white flour
- 75 g self-raising white flour
- 50 g ground almonds
- 60 g soft vegan margarine
- 80 g caster sugar, plus a spoonful for sprinkling
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp oat (or other non-dairy) milk
method
- Prepare the filling in advance to give it some cooling time (it can be made the day before). Chop the apple, peel and all, into pieces no larger than sultanas, and transfer to a small saucepan. Add three tablespoons of water and soften for a few minutes over a moderate heat.
- Add the other ingredients except for the cornflour, and continue to cook for another minute or two.
- Mix the cornflour with one teaspoon of water and add to the fruit mixture, stirring immediately, so that the juices thicken to a syrupy consistency. You can add a second teaspoon of cornflour, in the same way, if the mixture looks very runny, but remember that it has some more cooking to do and will set a little when cool.
- Put the filling aside to cool while you prepare the shortcake.
- Set the oven to 180°C/360°F and line the base of a 7″ tin (you can use an 8″ tin but it will produce a thinner slice and you’ll need to reduce the baking time a little).
- Beat the sugar and margarine together in a medium sized bowl until soft and fluffy.
- Add the vanilla and beat for another half minute or so.
- Lightly stir in the ground almonds and sifted flours until almost combined.
- Add the milk and fold and stir again until you have a fairly soft pastry dough. Don’t over mix.
- Transfer the dough to a well-floured board and divide into two equal pieces. Roll one piece to (roughly) fit the base of the baking tin and transfer it to the tin as well as you can. Lightly press into the corners and smooth with a suitable knife to create an even surface.
- Gently dot dessert-spoonfuls of the filling onto the base and spread evenly across the surface.
- Roll the second half of the shortcake and carefully transfer this to the pan, creating the top layer. It is soft and liable to fall apart but you can patch it. Alternatively, transfer it in four separate squares and smooth over the joins with a knife.
- Sprinkle over a good spoonful of caster sugar before baking for 30-35 minutes. The pastry on top will be quite well browned under the sugar (see pictures) by the time the base is also baked through.
- Allow to cool completely before cutting and removing from the tin.
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