Sweet Short Crust Pastry

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

This recipe can be utilised into a thousand recipes literally! Know this by hart and you’ll never look back.

·         175g Flour

·         100g Cold Unsalted Butter – cut into small cubes

·         25g Icing Sugar

·         1 x Extra Large Egg Yolk

·         1Tblsp of Iced Water

Method:

I always use a food processor but you are more than welcome to make it by hand. Place the flour, icing sugar and butter into the processor and blitz it 3 – 4 times, till the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make sure all the butter is incorporated and evenly distributed throughout the mixture. Add the egg yolk and blitz again till just combined, then add the water and blitz a few times till the mixture comes away from the sides of the processor. Once this happens you know that it’s ready, remove the blade and bring the pastry together and form a ball with your hand. Wrap the ball in cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Dust the kitchen counter lightly with icing sugar, so the pastry won’t stick and start to roll out the pastry. Do not press too hard, let your rolling pin glide gently over the pastry. Best tip is to roll twice in one direction then turning the pastry and rolling twice again. Repeat this till the pastry is about 4mm thick and large enough for required tart tin. Always use a loose bottom tart tin as I find the pastry is more workable than in an old tart dish.

If making by hand, sieve the flour and icing sugar together two times in a bowl. Add the butter and rub the butter in with the tips of your fingers, till the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.  Add the yolk and water and bring everything together by hand till the pastry forms. Roll the mix into a ball and wrap it with cling wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes and then just follow the normal rolling out steps.

Line the pastry shell (non-stick loose bottom tart tin, tart dish), and refrigerate for 20 minutes (this will help the pastry not to shrink too much during cooking). Cover the pastry with wax paper and fill with baking beans, bake the pastry blind at 200ͦC for 10 minutes, remove the wax paper and beans then turn the oven down to 180 ͦC and bake for another 10 minutes till the pastry is golden in colour. Remove and cool completely before filling the tart shell.

TIP: Give the pastry a brush with lightly whisked egg whites before you bake it blind a second time, this will basically waterproof your pastry, for a wet filling.