The Richie Slice

Do you know about the six degrees of separation? It’s a theory that states that any person on the planet can be connected to any other person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances that has no more than five intermediaries. Apparently the theory was first proposed in 1929 by a Hungarian writer in a short story. However you might have heard of it through “the six degress of Kevin Bacon” game, which is a play on the concept: the goal is to link any actor to Kevin Bacon through no more than six connections, where two actors are connected if they have appeared in a movie together. There’s even a website! I find this very amusing and being a movie fan, when I was younger I really enjoyed playing the game.

At a work event in November 2015 I met Mike Cron, the All Blacks forwards coach.

That means there are merely 2 degrees of separation between myself and Richie McCaw.

How is this astonishing yet pointless fact related to this recipe? Please read the explanation below taken from the Great NZ Baking Book:

“The Richie slice is named after our favourite All Blacks captain because it’s as amazing (and delicious) as he is!”

You will need: butter, dark chocolate, eggs, caster sugar, vanilla extract, plain flour, cocoa powder, white chocolate, vegetable oil and cream cheese.

Pre-heat the oven to 170° C. Grease a 20 cm x 30 cm high-sided slice tin and line with baking paper.

Melt the butter and the dark chocolate together in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Alternatively, you can use the microwave – melt the butter and chocolate together on high in short bursts of 30 seconds for about 1 minute or until just melted, checking after each burst. Stir until combined and set aside to cool a little.

In a large mixing bowl, use an electric beater to whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla together until thick and creamy.

Sift the flour and cocoa over the egg mixture. Stir until smooth and glossy. Add the chocolate mixture and stir through until it is just combined.

Using either of the methods mentioned above, melt the white chocolate and oil together, stirring after each burst if using the microwave.

Add the cream cheese and beat with an electric beater until well combined and smooth.

Pour half of the chocolate brownie mixture into the slice tin.

Dollop spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture on top. Carefully spread the cream cheese out until it covers the brownie mixture.

Pour the remaining brownie mixture over the top, spreading it out so it covers the cream cheese mixture.

Bake for 40–50 minutes, or until just starting to set in the middle and a crust has formed. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin before cutting (recipe says one hour but I didn’t wait that long!)

The Richie Slice

Makes: 20 | Prep time: 25 mins | Cook time: 40–50 mins | Skill level: 2 (moderate)

Ingredients

300 g butter, diced
300 g chocolate buttons
6 free-range eggs
2 cups (440 g) caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1¼ cups (190 g) plain flour
1 cup (100 g) cocoa powder
1¼ cups (200 g) White chocolate
1 tbsp rice bran oil
1½ cups (300 g) cream cheese, softened

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 170° C. Grease a 20 cm x 30 cm high-sided slice tin and line with baking paper.

Melt the butter and chocolate buttons together in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Alternatively, use your microwave – melt the butter and chocolate together on high in short bursts of 20 seconds, for 1 minute or until just melted, checking after each burst. Stir until combined and set aside to cool a little.

In a large mixing bowl, use an electric beater to whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla together until thick and creamy.

Sift the flour and cocoa over the egg mixture. Using a large metal spoon, stir until smooth and glossy. Add the chocolate mixture and stir through until it is just combined.

Using either of the methods listed above, melt the white chocolate and oil together, stirring after each burst if using the microwave. Add the cream cheese and beat with an electric beater until well combined and smooth.

Pour half of the chocolate brownie mixture into the slice tin. Dollop spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture on top. Carefully spread the cream cheese out until it covers the brownie mixture. Pour the remaining brownie mixture over the top, spreading it out so it covers the cream cheese mixture.

Bake for 40–50 minutes, or until just starting to set in the middle and a crust has formed. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for at least an hour before cutting.