It’s December the 3rd and I’m already on my second batch of mince pies.
Which brings me to pastry.
I stumbled upon this recipe years ago and still use it today. I’ve tried other variations over time but nothing has matched it. It’s VERY buttery, almost like a shortbread when cooked. Sometimes it’s difficult to roll (in which case I patch it and that’s fine) and sometimes it’s as easy as pie (as they say).
It’s Marco Pierre-White’s recipe. Make a batch, divide it into portions and pop it in the freezer.
You will need:
Half a kilo of flour
350g unsalted butter
150g icing sugar
4 egg yolks (freeze the whites for another time)
A little ice cold water (you may not need this but have it standing by)
First of all, try and make sure that your butter is at room temperature. If it’s too cold in your kitchen (as is often the case in our house) then put it into the mixer and whizz it for a few minutes until it becomes soft. Add the icing sugar and beat until really creamy and fluffy
When it’s really creamy and white (after a few minutes) add your egg yolks and beat again
Weigh out your flour and add all of it at once to the butter, sugar and egg mixture
Mix slowly so that the flour doesn’t go everywhere. Stop and scrape the mixture down from the sides every now and again. You may need to add a little water at this point but often I do not as it comes together very easily and is very soft
Mix for a minute or two until fully combined and then switch the mixer off. The mixture is very soft and can’t easily be handled
Put some clingfilm on you scales and using a spoon measure out individual portions of pastry that weigh around 300g or thereabouts. I normally have a few different sizes, some bigger than others to suit my tart tins
Flatten them into discs and pop into the freezer.
I posted this recipe in June 2018 with photos so Google Recipes from Le Tasting Room’s kitchen sweet pastry and it will pop up for you to see.
For a Christmassy take add a little ground cinnamon to the mixture and the finely grated rind of one orange. For a chocolate pastry remove 20g of flour and add 20g of cocoa powder.
