Name: Shortcrust pastry
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: serving
Cuisine: Bake
Ingredients: 1 eggs; 125 g castor sugar golden; 1 tsp vanilla or almond extract; 250 g flour plain; 125 g butter cubed

Recipe Disclaimer

Tap for method

Ingredients (5)

1	eggs
125 g	castor sugar — golden
1 tsp	vanilla — or almond extract
250 g	flour — plain
125 g	butter — cubed

Tap for ingredients

Method:

Makes 500g.

Essential equipment:
Butter knife or pastry cutter

Note: Due to the sugar in the pastry, it browns much quicker than an ordinary shortcrust, and so is best baked at a lower temperature.

Place the egg, sugar and vanilla or almond in a mixing bowl, and whisk with a balloon
whisk for a minute, or until the sugar is dissolved into the egg.

Sift the flour into the mixture and stir in using a wooden spoon, until the mixture has a sandy texture – be sure to scrape around the bottom of the bowl so there are no clumps of flour.

Add the cubed butter, and cut in using a butter knife or a pastry cutter until the butter is well incorporated and the dough comes together. (This pastry gets too sticky too quickly to do this by hand, which is why you use a knife or cutter.) Remove from the bowl and knead gently for a few seconds. Wrap in baking paper and chill for at least 30 minutes before using.

Recipe reprinted with permission of John Whaite.