How to Make Sweet Shortcrust Pastry. Your step-by-step guide to mastering sweet pastry with images to show you the way. Packed full of hints and tips.Makes enough for x1 23cm (9-inch) tart shell/pie base
Recipe by Emma Duckworth on August 1, 2023
Prep time: PT15M
Total time: PT45M
Rating
4.76 stars (25 reviews)
Keywords
sweet shortcrust pastry
Ingredients
220 g plain flour (all-purpose)
40 g powdered icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
¼ tsp fine salt
110 g unsalted butter (chopped into small cubes)
1 large egg (beaten)
15-30 ml ice cold water
Categories
Pies & Tarts
Cuisine
British
French
Steps
Rub the butter into the flour. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt. Add the butter and toss until the cubes are coated. Rub the mixture together between your fingers until it reaches a breadcrumb consistency with a few hazelnut-sized pieces of butter still visible.
Add egg and water. Make a well in the centre and add the egg. Using a fork, mix the egg into the flour. Add 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of the ice-cold water, and use your fingertips to bring the dough together. If the dough isn’t clumping together, add more water sparingly.
Bring the dough together and refrigerate. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured countertop, and use floured hands to shape the dough into a ball, taking care not to overwork it. Flatten slightly into a disc, and wrap well in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour to let the dough rest.
Roll out dough. Remove the chilled dough disc from the fridge and set it aside on your countertop for 15 minutes or so to allow the dough to warm up slightly so it’s easier to roll out. Trying to roll dough that is too cold will cause the edges to crack. To roll out, lightly flour your countertop and rolling pin, and using firm, even strokes, roll from the centre outward, turning the dough a quarter turn every few strokes. Roll the dough out to the thickness of a coin (⅛-inch (3-mm) thick) and into a 12-inch (30-cm) circle.
Prepare dough in the tart tin. Flour the base of a 9-inch (23-cm) shallow fluted tart pan with a removable base, and gently lift the dough and place it into the prepared pan. Use your fingers to push the dough up the sides of the pan and into the grooves. Using a sharp knife, trim off the excess dough from the rim. Refrigerate the prepared tart shell for at least 1 hour to allow the dough to relax further. (My preference is to leave the shell overnight in the fridge and continue with the recipe the next day. If you do this, cover it well in plastic wrap to ensure that the dough doesn’t dry out.)
Blind bake. Only continue on with this step if parbaking or fully baking your tart shell is required. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Once the dough is chilled, prick the tart base all over with a fork, and then line with parchment paper and fill with pie weights all the way up the sides. Blind bake for 15 minutes, and then remove the parchment paper and pie weights.
Return the tart back to the oven and bake for a further 7 to 10 minutes, for a par-baked tart base or for a further 15 minutes until golden brown for a fully baked tart base. Remove from the oven, and leave the tart shell to cool.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 1808 kcal
Carbohydrates: 208 g
Protein: 29 g
Fat: 96 g
Saturated Fat: 58 g
Trans Fat: 4 g
Cholesterol: 400 mg
Sodium: 670 mg
Sugar: 40 g
Unsaturated Fat: 30 g
Reviews
Mia on 2024-08-20 (1 stars): I was keen to make the pastry given its stellar reviews, however I can’t seem to find here the weight of the ingredients..(?)
Sheila Fletcher on 2023-10-14 (5 stars): Fabulous and precise instructions. Lots of very helpful tips. Excellent shortcrust pastry and certainly good to eat!
Do you have a cookery book out to purchase?
Roy on 2023-08-05 (5 stars): Thank you so much for everything you do. Following your tutorials have made things a lot easier for my wife and I We hope to try this over the weekend
Iman on 2023-02-10 (5 stars): Such an easy and fool proof recipe I love it. Thanks so much!
Janice on 2023-02-09 (5 stars): Emma, I love your recipes. You have such a good sense of how to write a recipe! Thanks so much for showing us how to make wonderful baked goods!
Alice E M LYTTON on 2022-12-18 (5 stars): Very good! Step-by-step approach, and, the tips, were very helpful. Thanx!
CECILIA CRIMMINS on 2021-11-04 (5 stars): Hello Emma,
I have just made this pastry and it is now resting in the fridge. I want to make a tart with it. What gas number should I cook it at please. Celia
Fran on 2021-11-02 (5 stars): I've been baking for a while but this is my first time making shortcrust pastry from scratch. I really wanted to get it right and this post was so so helpful - I really appreciated the extra tips, explanations of the science and the pictures I could compare with. The pastry has since turned into a pumpkin pie and this page is defintely going in my bookmarks. I'll have to check your other recipes, they might encourage me to try some new things!
Danielle on 2021-08-16 (5 stars): Thank you for a beautiful recipe and wonderful instructions 💕