Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
Servings: 500 g
This quantity of pastry will line a 25cm (10 inch) flan tin or eight 10cm (4 inch) tartlet tins.
INGREDIENTS LIST
- 250 g plain flour (all-purpose)
- 100 g butter (see notes)
- 100 g icing sugar (US powdered sugar) (or caster sugar)
- a pinch fine sea salt
- 2 eggs (50g each and chilled)
Preparation
- I recommend freezing your butter for 20-30 minutes, prior to starting. * see notes.
- Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the diced butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Try not to overwork the dough as it will start to warm and will become too elastic and shrink when baked. We don't want the dough overheating so if you are only making a small amount of pastry, it is always best to make it by hand. I only ever use a food processor if I am making large amounts.
- Add the icing sugar, salt and mix well.
- Add the eggs and mix again. Knead the dough 2 or 3 times with the palm of your hand, until smooth. Shape the dough into a ball and flatten into a disk.
- Wrap in greaseproof paper or cling film and place in the fridge for at least an hours to relax the gluten. If you are in a hurry, place it in the freezer for half an hour and then use as required.
Notes & Tips
Butter - It is important to use cold ingredients when making pastry. And because we use our warm fingers or in some cases a food processor to mix the butter into the flour it is especially important to get the butter as cold as possible. I recommend cutting your butter into small cubes and then freezing it for 20-30 minutes prior to starting.
