Name: A Golden Twist: Why this Peach Berry Almond Slice is our new tea-time favourite
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: 825g canned peach slices in juice, drained; 1½ cups plain flour; 1 tblsp cornflour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 cup almond meal; ¾ cup caster sugar; 2 tsp finely grated orange rind; 225g cold butter, chopped; 2 eggs, lightly beaten; ½ cup natural flaked almonds; 125g frozen blueberries; icing sugar, vanilla custard

As Managing Food Editor of New Idea Food, I love to bake and share any sweet treat with the team.

Which is why every chance I get, I’ll put together a dessert or sweet feature for an upcoming New Idea Food photoshoot.

Come recipe development time, I don’t have to go far for inspiration. The archives brought me to our Plum Raspberry Almond Slice, which provided the foundations for the Peach Berry Almond Slice.

A few simple swaps were all it took to transform and refresh this old recipe. Canned plums were swapped for canned peaches, and frozen raspberries were replaced with frozen blueberries.

As for the dry components, almond meal and flaked almonds took the place of rolled oats, which gives the slice base and crumbly topping that nutty almond flavour to complement and offset the sweetness of the peaches.

Plus providing a lighter, more enjoyable texture. And it’s all made in the food processor for added ease!

I also downsized to a smaller slice pan for a better, more impressive height on this slice.

With a reliable photo chef to capture it and already having the original trusted recipe, there was no need for me to test this slice prior to the shoot day – and thankfully it was all smooth sailing and turned out perfectly!

Ingredients

825g canned peach slices in juice, drained

1½ cups plain flour

1 tblsp cornflour

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup almond meal

¾ cup caster sugar

2 tsp finely grated orange rind

225g cold butter, chopped

2 eggs, lightly beaten

½ cup natural flaked almonds

125g frozen blueberries

icing sugar, vanilla custard

Method

Step 1

Grease a 18cm x 28cm rectangular slice pan. Line base and sides with baking paper, extending paper 3cm above pan edges.

Step 2

Pat dry peaches with paper towel.

Step 3

Place flours, baking powder, almond meal, sugar and orange rind in a food processor. Process until combined. Add butter. Process until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add eggs. Pulse until combined.

Step 4

Press three-quarters of the almond mixture over base of prepared pan. Transfer remaining to a bowl. Stir in flaked almonds. Scatter peaches and blueberries over base. Dollop almond mixture over fruit.

Step 5

Cook in a 180°C preheated oven for 35-40 mins, or until golden brown. Stand in pan for 30 mins. Using paper as a guide, lift slice from pan. Cool on a wire rack.

Step 6

Cut slice into rectangles. Dust with icing sugar. Serve with custard.

Karen Buckle

Lara Carlucci Editorial Assistant

Lara is an Editorial Assistant to Managing Food Editor Karen Buckley for New Idea, New Idea Food, Woman’s Day, Take 5, and That’s Life, and an Assistant and Writer for Diabetic Living. With a Bachelor of Media (Communications & Journalism), a Bachelor of Arts, and a Bachelor of Arts and Social Sciences (Honours), she’s always nurtured a passion and love for writing in whatever form it takes, wanting to share stories that matter. Food is her second love: shaped by her Italian heritage, and the countless large family gatherings that are always comprised of wholesome, generous meals prepared by loved ones. If not around the banquet table, she’ll take every opportunity to sample Sydney’s endless supply of cuisines – having visited over 70 food joints in the last year alone!