Apricot Slice and All Things Nice

One thing that I consider myself to be rather good at is procrastination. It’s that time of year when assignments are starting to pile up and on a sunny day like today, I can think of at least twenty other things I would rather be doing than working inside on the computer. One of my favourite forms of productive procrastination is baking. And yes, that half a tin of condensed milk in the fridge needed to be used up right away. Clearly, it was a highly urgent matter that I had to attend to. That said, this is one of my favourite slice recipes. It is simple and quick, requires no baking, and most importantly, is delicious! A fabulous addition to any high tea menu.

 

My main piece of advice in regards to this slice is don’t compromise on the quality of the dried apricots. They will make all the difference. We currently have some Otago dried apricots, which tasted amazing in this slice (and also very good on their own!).

Apricot Slice

100-150g dried apricots

¼ cup orange juice (I use whatever  type of juice we have in the fridge at the time)

75g butter, melted

½ a 400g can sweetened condensed milk

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup coconut

1 packet (250g) Wine or Malt biscuits (biscuits of preference: plain Girl Guide biscuits)

extra coconut

Line the base and sides of a pan about 18x28 cm with baking paper.

Finely chop the dried apricots using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife and cook them in the juice in a large pot until there is no liquid left. Add the butter to the apricots and stir over low heat until melted. Add condensed milk and brown sugar, then heat gently, stirring often until the sugar is no longer grainy, and the mixture is golden brown. (Caution, this will stick to the bottom of the saucepan if the temperature is too high or if you leave it too long without stirring.)

Remove from heat and stir in coconut and the finely crushed biscuits. Stir everything together well.

Sprinkle the lined baking paper with the extra coconut, and then tip in the mixture. Press in evenly to the depth you like. Sprinkle the mixture with more coconut, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting.

Recipe taken from 100 Favourite Muffins & Slices, by Simon and Alison Holst.

And voila! You have a delicious slice that keeps for a least a week in the fridge and you can continue on with your day. Extra condensed milk disaster averted.

Happy baking!

H xo