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A hand holding a ball of sweet shortcrust pastry.

How To Make Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

Learn how to make deliciously sweet shortcrust pastry - it's so easy! Just 4 basic ingredients and 5 minutes prep time... it couldn't be any simpler!
5 from 44 votes
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Course: basics
Cuisine: Baking
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Chilling time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 1 serves
Calories: 2125kcal

Equipment

  • Food processor or Thermomix

Ingredients

  • 300 g (2 cups) plain flour
  • 3 tbs caster sugar superfine sugar
  • 150 g butter cold and chopped
  • 2-3 tbs icy cold water see notes

Instructions

Conventional Method

  • Place the flour, sugar and butter into a food processor and process it until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
  • Slowly adding the iced water until a smooth dough forms (add a little extra iced water if the mixture is too crumbly).
  • Knead the dough into a ball on a lightly floured surface.
  • Wrap in plastic wrap and place it into the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
  • When you're ready to use your dough, roll it out on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin until it is 3mm thick.
  • If you're making a pie or dessert that has both a pastry bottom and top, it's best to divide your dough into 2 and roll them out separately.
  • Bake the pastry in an oven preheated to 180 degrees celsius for approximately 20 minutes or until lightly golden and crisp.
  • Please note that if you're not adding the pie/dessert filling immediately, place a sheet of baking paper over the bottom of the pastry and fill with baking weights or rice (uncooked) before placing into the oven. Remove the paper and weights halfway through the baking time.

Thermomix Method

  • Place the flour, sugar and butter into the TM bowl and mix for 10 seconds on Speed 6 (or until it resembles fine breadcrumbs).
  • Add the iced water and knead for 1 minute on Interval speed, or until the dough comes together (add a little extra iced water if the mixture is too crumbly).
  • Knead the dough into a ball on a lightly floured surface.
  • Wrap in plastic wrap and place it into the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
  • When you're ready to use your dough, roll it out on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin until it is 3mm thick.
  • If you're making a pie or dessert that has both a pastry bottom and top, it's best to divide your dough into 2 and roll them out separately.
  • Bake the pastry in an oven preheated to 180 degrees celsius for approximately 20 minutes or until lightly golden and crisp.
  • Please note that if you're not adding the pie/dessert filling immediately, place a sheet of baking paper over the bottom of the pastry and fill with baking weights or rice (uncooked) before placing into the oven. Remove the paper and weights halfway through the baking time.

Notes

RECIPE NOTES & TIPS
  • Use full fat butter that is very cold. Chilled butter will stop the pastry from becoming greasy.
  • For savoury shortcrust pastry, simply omit the sugar (there's no need to replace it with anything).
  • Try to keep all of your ingredients cold during the entire preparation process. Keep the butter chilled until you're ready to use it. Add ice to water to chill it even further.
  • Chill the dough before using it - this allows the butter to become firm again.
  • Remove the dough from the fridge and leave it for 5-10 minutes before rolling it out (this will stop the edges of the pastry from cracking when you roll it out).
  • Add a little flour to your rolling pin and board when rolling out the dough (to stop it from sticking).
  • Roll the pastry out about 3mm thick, and 4cm (1.5 inches) wider than the tart tin you’re lining, or even larger if the tin is deep sided.
  • Drape the pastry over the rolling pin to lift and help you position it over the tin.
  • If you're not adding the pie/dessert filling immediately, then blind bake the shortcrust pastry base.
  • Uncooked sweet shortcrust pastry can be frozen - just wrap a ball of dough in plastic wrap and pop in the freezer for up to one month. Allow to thaw and it's ready to use!
TO BLIND BAKE PASTRY:
  • Blind baking is the process of par-cooking pastry before adding filling and continuing to cook. This keeps the pastry in shape when filling is added, stops the pastry from going soggy.
  • To blind bake - roll the chilled dough out and press into the baking tin. Press a piece of baking paper (greaseproof paper) onto the top of the pastry. Fill the base and sides with ceramic baking beads (can be purchased from supermarkets or kitchenware stores). If you don’t have baking weights, you can use uncooked rice or lentils instead.
  • Blind bake the pastry for about 10-15 minutes then remove the weights and parchment paper and continue to bake until base is firm and lightly golden.
  • When ready to fill the pie base, add the filling and top pastry (if covering your pie) and bake until the filling is cooked and the top pastry is golden.

Nutrition

Calories: 2125kcal | Carbohydrates: 227g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 124g | Saturated Fat: 77g | Cholesterol: 323mg | Sodium: 1076mg | Potassium: 304mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 3750IU | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 11.6mg