A slice is nice

I've made this slice around about 100 times. It's my go-to recipe when the kids say "can we cook something?" or I feel the urge for something sweet and homemade that can be thrown into lunch boxes for the kids' morning tea (or mine, for that matter).

I've also taken it to a few afternoon tea gatherings and am often asked for the recipe. So here it is, super easy - even if you have less than an hour, you can easily whip this into the oven and go and paint your nails, if you're into that kind of thing. I'm not. I'm more likely to go and hang out a load of washing. Or pet some fabric while I wait for the oven to beep.

Jam Slice (the coconutty kind)

For the base:

1 cup plain flour

1/2 cup rolled oats (I like to use oats when I bake because it makes me feel like what I'm baking is full of healthy goodness).

1/3 cup caster sugar

125g butter, melted

Mix everything together in a bowl, then press into a lined or greased slice tin (not too big, mine is around 18 by 28 cm). Into a 180C oven for about 10-12 minutes or until it is just starting to go golden-brown.

For the topping:

1 cup coconut (shredded or desiccated - shredded gives a nice, chewy texture - or you can use a mix of both)

1/3 cup caster sugar

1 egg

your favourite jam or whatever is in the fridge (for us it's always strawberry or raspberry, nothing too fancy)

Once you've taken the slice base out of the oven, let it cool just for a few minutes. Then spread it all over with jam, about the same thickness as you would spread on a piece of toast. This probably uses 3-4 tablespoons of jam.

Mix the coconut, sugar and egg together in a bowl with a fork. Then use your fingers to drop it all over the jammy slice. Aim for even coverage, but leave a few holes here and there for the jam to peek through.

Back into the oven, this time for around 12-15 minutes. Once it goes nice and golden-brown on top, that's enough. Allow to cool then cut into squares and watch it disappear.

And then you can go and bake something with this!

Yummy, isn't it?