Chocolate Marshmallow Slice

This is one of my all time favourite recipes and one I can make quickly. I got the original recipe from my very dear, dear Aunt, who was my most favourite person in the whole world, and more like a mother to me than an aunt. I have tweaked it slightly, but the basics are the same. I think of her every single time I make this, when I refer to the recipe I typed up about at her house about 24 years ago.

It's a such a popular slice and I urge you to have a go and make it.


Chocolate and Marshmallow Slice

Ingredients:
Base
1/c caster sugar
1 c desiccated coconut
1 c self raising flour
2 dessert spoons cocoa
125g butter, melted - by the way I used Stork block and made it dairy free for my son.

Topping
1 large bag of marshmallows (I use Sainsbury's family sized bag)
Extra coconut to sprinkle of top

(Note: you could use homemade marshmallow which would be even nicer, but not as fast)

Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180deg C, and grease and line a 20cmx20cm tray with baking parchment.
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
3. Add the melted butter and mix to combine all ingredients - the mix will be like wet sand.
4. Press this into the tray - I roll over the mix with small glass tuned on its side to compact it.
5. Bake for 15 mins. Remove from oven and roll the glass over it again to flatten the base as it does rise slightly.
6. Once the base is out of the oven, put all the marshmallows into a bowl and melt in the microwave in 30 second increments. Check after each 30 seconds. Once melted, move quickly to pour on top of the warm chocolate base. The marshmallow starts to set quickly, so work fast. Using an oiled spatula will help. Don't worry if you don't use every bit of marshmallow - just use as much as will come out quickly.
7. Quickly sprinkle with coconut then cover and refrigerate for an hour or more to set.
8. When cutting this up, move it on to a board and peel the sides away. I have a bag of icing sugar/cornflour mix that I use for coating marshmallows, and I dip my knife into this, which helps to cut without sticking, but before I had this, I used to dip the knife in a glass of water and then cut - it helped.

This can be stored in an airtight container in or out of the fridge for up to a week - if it lasts that long.

Variations:
You can also top this with chocolate icing and coconut, a traditional Australian slice.