Jam and macaroon slice

So after blogging about the macaron/macaroon fiasco, I reminded myself how much I do love some decadent macaroons. To recap, macaroons are not the delicate little French beauties, they are the plain and simple (but absolutely delicious) rich coconut cookies. With a lonely jar of jam sitting in the fridge, I decided to take my baking one step further and make a jam and macaroon slice. Old-fashioned and a frequenter at bake sales, jam slice is one of my favourite afternoon cheat treats. Slices are easy to make and I use a disposable foil tray, which means there is hardly any clean up and you have a portable present to bring friends.

Jam and Macaroon Slice

Ingredients:

• 140 grams of organic butter, softened
• 3/4 cup of caster sugar
• 2 organic eggs
• 1 and 2/3 cups of plain flour
• 3 teaspoons of baking powder
• 3/4 cup of jam of your choice (I used raspberry)

Coconut macaroon topping:

• 2 cups of dessicated coconut
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon of melted butter
• 1/4 cup of white sugar

Method:

1. Spray a large deep baking tray or disposable foil tray with cooking oil.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (moderate heat oven).
3. Beat butter, sugar and eggs with an electric mixer until creamy. Sift in the flour and baking powder and stir together to combine into a dough. 
4. Press the dough into the baking tray until flat.
5. Heat the jam in the microwave until melted and stir. Then pour the jam on top of the dough and cover evenly.
6. To make the coconut topping, beat the eggs, butter and sugar together and mix in the coconut. Sprinkle this mixture on top of the slice.
7. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until browned on the top and cooked through. If the coconut topping is getting too brown, cover with foil and continue baking until the bottom dough is baked.