Custard squares

MAKES 12 PREPARATION: 10 MIN COOKING: 25 MIN CHILLING: 1 HR

500g butter puff pastry 375ml (1½c) castor sugar 250ml (1c) cornflour

200ml (¾c) custard powder 1L (4c) milk

70g butter, chopped

2 egg yolks, lightly beaten 5ml (1t) vanilla essence icing sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 22-cm square cake pan and line the base and sides with baking paper. Grease two baking sheets.

1 Place a sheet of puff pastry on each baking sheet. Bake, one tray at a time, for about 8 minutes or until golden and puffed. Carefully flatten the pastry. Set aside to cool.

2 Put the sugar, cornflour and custard powder in a saucepan over medium heat and gradually stir in the milk until smooth and combined. Add the butter and cook, stirring constantly, for 8 minutes or until the mixture starts to simmer and thicken. Remove from the heat and stir in the egg yolks and vanilla essence.

3 Put a sheet of baked pastry in the base of the prepared cake pan, trimming to fit. Pour hot custard over the pastry. Top with the second baked pastry sheet, trimming to fit. Refrigerate to cool and set, about an hour.

4 Cut into squares and dust with extra icing sugar.