Nan's jam and coconut slice

A simple delicious slice made from pantry staples.

An afternoon tea classic Credit: Benito Martin

• makes

  25

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

When I was a young kid, school holidays meant that my sister and I would be placed under the charge of my grandmother June, who made delicious baked treats. A staple was this jam and coconut slice. There’s nothing fancy about it - it uses only pantry staples, but as my grandfather would offer, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. When my Nan passed this recipe down to me, the measurements were given in cups because Nan believed scales belong to fish.

Ingredients

Base

• 300 g (2 cups) plain flour, sifted
• 55 g (¼ cup) caster sugar
• 125 g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
• 1 egg

Topping

• 320 g (1 cup) strawberry jam
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 55 g (¼ cup) caster sugar
• 180 g (2 cups) desiccated coconut

Cooling time: 30 minutes

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a line a 26 cm square baking tin with baking paper.

For the base, combine the flour and sugar in a large bowl and stir to distribute evently.

Add the butter and rub it into the flour between your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Crack the egg into the bowl and use a wooden spoon to bring the mixture together to form a dough. Press the dough evenly into the base of the tin and bake for 15 minutes or until the pastry is golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin.

For the topping, spread the jam evenly over the cooled base.

Combine the eggs and sugar in a large bowl, then stir through the coconut.

Spread the coconut mixture over the jam and bake for 15 minutes or until the top is golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin. Turn out onto a chopping board and cut into squares.

Photography by Benito Martin. Styling by Lynsey Fryers. Food preparation by Nick Banbury. Creative concept by Belinda So.

Paul West is the host of River Cottage Australia, 6pm weeknights on SBS and on SBS On Demand. For more recipes from Paul, click here.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

When I was a young kid, school holidays meant that my sister and I would be placed under the charge of my grandmother June, who made delicious baked treats. A staple was this jam and coconut slice. There’s nothing fancy about it - it uses only pantry staples, but as my grandfather would offer, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. When my Nan passed this recipe down to me, the measurements were given in cups because Nan believed scales belong to fish.