A bakery located in regional Victoria can now confidently call itself home to the county’s best vanilla slice after sweeping its competition for the second time this year.
North End Bakehouse in Shepparton won big at The Great Australian Vanilla Slice Triumph in Merbein, near Mildura, at the weekend.
It was the second national vanilla slice title baker Matt Aylett has earned this year, having taken out first place at the Baking Association of Australia’s (BAA) Victorian Baking Show in March.
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“We did it!,” the bakery wrote on Facebook on Saturday.
“We now hold the title for 2023 Australia’s Best Vanilla Slice and (are the) winners of The Great Australian Vanilla Slice Triumph!!
“A massive congrats to all other winners today, and the place getters in our class.”
The competition’s judging and bakeries coordinator Anne Nash told 7NEWS.com.au Aylett had worked “very, very hard” on perfecting his slice.
“(He can) define the difference between the pastry, the custard, making sure the custard is a vanilla custard, not a cream custard,” she said.
“Sometimes the slices will come in, and then the icing is weeping.
“All the things that the judges will be looking for, whether the vanilla slice can actually stand alone in a square and not actually move, that’s the perfect vanilla slice.”
Nash also said a “really strong, crunchy pastry” was imperative.
Speaking about his vanilla slice win in March, Aylett told 7NEWS 17 years of practise had helped him hone his craft.
“We make sure the custard’s perfect, pastry’s crispy, icing’s shiny, everything,” he said.
Sharps Bakery in Birchip, Victoria took out second place, while third went to Banana Boogie Bakery in Belair, Adelaide.
Banana Boogie owner Jason Spencer was recently awarded Australia’s best sausage roll earlier this month.
Having taken out five national titles in 2023, including Australia’s best hot cross bun, Spencer told 7NEWS.com.au at the time that he was hoping to win the Triumph and “take an absolutely clean sweep of the national competition”.
Despite falling short, the bakery was still proud of its achievement.
“Super excited to say we made it back on the podium with 3rd place in The Great Australian Vanilla Slice Triumph today,” it wrote on social media.
“We haven’t placed since we first entered in 2016, which is an amazing achievement by the team.”
Saturday’s competition marked only its second year back up and running after being hampered by COVID lockdowns.
The Triumph was started in Ouyen, south of Mildura, in 1998 after former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett said a vanilla slice sold by the Ouyen Mallee Bakery was the best he’d ever had.
Since then it has been held in Merbein and Mildura.
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