Two little girls, like chalk and cheese. The eldest, dark eyed, slender and tall; she is a dancer. Her little sister, blue eyed, pale and short: she has announced that she is a ‘cheffa’. They arrive early and gather some eggs for breakfast. The dancer choreographs the cooking while the cheffa sniffs things and picks the parsley. The tall one has salt and no parsley, the little one insists on black pepper and lots of herbs.
This old fashioned slice has been around forever and should appeal to their differing tastes. I remember eating this as a child and it was the first thing I ever made as a teenager. It incorporates a healthy breakfast cereal, coconut and cocoa and is simple and fast to make. Children love to crunch up the vita brits, the first step in this recipe. They share the tasks readily: my job is to find the ingredients in the chaotic pantry and melt the butter.
Chocolate Crunch
Heat the oven to 180c before commencing.
- 3 vita brits ( or other wholewheat breakfast biscuits)
- 1/2 cup (120g) sugar
- 1 cup (150g) self-raising flour
- 1 cup dessicated coconut
- 2 tablespoons cocoa
- 150g butter, melted
Icing.
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon cocoa
- knob of butter
- a little milk.
Break up the vita brits until you have fine crumbs. Mix in the other dry ingredients. Add the melted butter. Stir well until all the dry ingredients have been moistened, using the back of a tablespoon.
Grease with butter a rectangular tray 26cm by 16 cm. Tip in the biscuit mixture. Press the mixture in and flatten with the back of a spoon, removing all air pockets. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Icing. Heat the butter and mik. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cocoa together, then pour in enough of the milk/butter mixture to make a firm, not too runny, icing. Pour the icing onto the warm slice, ‘a small puddle of wet chocolate’ in dancing terms, and then spread evenly over the slice. Cool and let the icing set. Cut into small squares when set and store in an airtight tin. It keeps well but is more likely to be eaten quickly by the dancer, the chef and their elders.
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