Why a cream slice is best in the morning
Not a whim but physics: puff pastry loses its crispness within hours as it takes up moisture from the custard.
A cream slice is one of our simplest pastries, and that is exactly what makes it revealing. It contains two things: puff pastry and vanilla custard. If either is off, you see it immediately.
What happens to the pastry
The layers of puff pastry are separated during baking by steam from the butter inside. That is what makes it crisp. Once custard is added, moisture starts to seep between the layers and the pastry softens.
This is not spoilage – the pastry is perfectly good the next day – but the texture changes.
What we do about it
We bake the pastry on the day the slices are assembled, and we fill in batches through the day rather than all at once in the morning.
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