A Sweet Slice of Adelaide

While visiting Adelaide for Christmas, we again resumed the hunt for the world’s best Vanilla Slice. Regular readers would be well aware that this has been an ongoing fixation that spans many years and has seen Jules and I searching out bakeries from all over the world in order to find the definitive version of this classic custard cake. (check out my earlier blog)

Australia in particular continues to hold this creamy delicacy in very high regard and across this vast land, competitions are regularly held in order find the country’s best. In my hometown of Adelaide, there are many bakeries that proudly boast of their awards, while others simply rely upon word of mouth to claim that their version of the humble Vanilla Slice is simply the best.

With some bakeries closed over the Christmas/New Year period, it was difficult to sample all of the highly rated slices, but we made an effort to search out a number of the better local slices for a comparative taste test. Using our usual criteria of appearance, custard quality, icing and overall taste, we set about selecting five of the best versions of this iconic dessert.

1. Dulwich Bakery, Dulwich – This remains a perennial favorite. Plain and simple with both topnotch custard and icing which simply can’t be beaten. This slice remains as one of our top six in the world!

2. Orange Spot Bakery, Glenelg – While the custard is not quite as creamy as the Dulwich variety, this slice rates very highly and would just about nudge its way into the all time top six based upon its all round perfection.

3. Brumby’s Bakery, Richmond – A genuinely traditional slice that has its own distinctive custard flavor. The overall presentation and its consistency across all of our major criteria place it on the highly recommended list.

4. Price’s Bakery, Hillcrest – This is another good example of the traditional ‘snot block’ with particularly good icing. If the custard was just a little creamier it may move up the rankings.

5. St Georges Bakery, Kensington – A slice with a delicious custard that stands high and proud. The only disappointing aspect of this slice was the frosted icing which lacked the flavor of the traditional sticky variety.

While South Australia has many attractions and remains world renowned for its wine and seafood, if you ever visit you might also like to try some of our favorite local bakeries to sample the great Aussie Vanilla Slice. In the meanwhile we will continue to search far and wide in the hope of one day stumbling upon the definitive version, so if you have any particular recommendations don’t hesitate to comment.