Making from scratch.
Let’s be honest. I’m sure you’re wondering how the heck I find time to make meals from scratch without packet mixes and pre-made ingredients. The truth is I do take shortcuts too in the interest of both convenience and time. I’m a mum which means I’m time poor and don’t always have the time to do everything from scratch. My two girls are pretty demanding for my time as well as I’ve been helping Daniel grow his business. If you look inside my pantry and freezer you’ll see several packet gravies, tomato pureé in jars, pre-made sauces and ready-rolled pastries.
While they’re great, there is nothing like doing something yourself. For me with two kids, I like to know what food I put in front of them for meals including all the ingredients that went into the meal. So when I can, I do try and put a little effort in to make things from scratch and often the reward is worth the effort. Pastry is one of these and this sweet shortcrust pastry recipe is the easiest to make. I have found that if I want to make my own, the best time is when the kids are asleep. Then keep the pastry wrapped in cling film in the fridge until I need to use it. This is a great recipe for sweet dishes that require shortcrust pastry. You can also use this recipe to make biscuits sandwiched together with some raspberry jam.
Shortcrust Pastry Tips & Tricks
- It’s very important to have the butter at room temperature and not melted. If you forgot to take it out of the fridge before and if you don’t have time to wait, reheat it a few seconds into the microwave oven on defrosting.
- You can keep the dough in the fridge for one night. If you do this, the pastry it will be as hard as a rock and impossible to roll out. In this case, use your microwave oven for a few seconds at a time on the defrosting position.
- If you have some pastry left over, roll the dough out on some small tart tins and bake them with nothing in them for 10-15 minutes at 180°C. Then, once cooled down, you can freeze them. To use from frozen, put your ingredients on the frozen pastries and bake them until the ingredients are cooked. This is quick and just as yummy as it was when it was first made.
Want another delicious recipe?
If you like this recipe, you’ll also love others available here. From pastas to risottos, cookies to desserts, and bliss balls to gluten-free options with everything in between. There is truly something here for everyone. I have developed this website to provide family-friendly recipes where I maximise both fresh produce while minimising cost.
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
Ingredients
- 150 g room temperature butter, cut in pieces
- ⅓ cup caster sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 2¼ cups plain flour
- 2 tablespoons chilled water
Instructions
- Add the sugar to the softened butter and “cream” everything with a wooden spoon in order to mix together both ingredients.
- When the mixture binds together as one, add the egg and mix to completely combine it.
- Add the flour and pinch of salt. Mix all ingredients together until it starts to bind as one.
- Turn out onto a floured bench top and with your hand and then form a ball. This step must be quick to not heat the butter!
- Put some cling film around the dough and keep at least 20 minutes in the fridge.
- After this resting time, roll the dough out with a rolling-pin and put it on the tin(s) that you want to use. Prick the pastry with a fork before baking it.
- The cooking time will depend a lot on the recipe that you’re doing. If you need to precook your pastry, 15 minutes at 180°C should be enough. But depending on the thickness of your pastry and on the oven used, you may have to adjust the time. If you bake your pastry when it’s already filled with something, the best advice I could give you is to check the color of the dough from time to time!
Notes
- It’s very important to have the butter at room temperature and not melted. If you forgot to take it out of the fridge before and if you don’t have time to wait, reheat it a few seconds into the microwave oven on defrosting.
- You can keep the dough in the fridge for one night. If you do this, the pastry it will be as hard as a rock and impossible to roll out. In this case, use your microwave oven for a few seconds at a time on the defrosting position.
- If you have some pastry left over, roll the dough out on some small tart tins and bake them with nothing in them for 10-15 minutes at 180°C. Then, once cooled down, you can freeze them. To use from frozen, put your ingredients on the frozen pastries and bake them until the ingredients are cooked. This is quick and just as yummy as it was when it was first made.