Sweet almond pastry (sweet shortcrust pastry)

Sweet almond pastry is a variation on traditional shortcrust pastry and is perfect for making a variety of sweet pastry desserts.

It contains ground almonds which add sweetness and moisture to the pastry.

You can use it to make a pastry shell for a Bakewell tart, tarte au citron, pistachio frangipane fruit crumble tart or frangipane mince pies. Simply use as a substitute for shortcrust pastry or sweet shortcrust pastry (pâte sucrée) in your recipe.

It can be prepared quickly and easily either by hand or using a food processor and can be prepared in advance for convenience.

The quantities in this sweet shortcrust pastry recipe are sufficient to line a 20 cm (8 inch) diameter dish.

Ingredients

• 120 grams flour
• 40 grams ground almonds
• 80 grams butter - use chilled butter, either salted or unsalted.
• 50 grams icing sugar
• 1 egg - separated. You will use the egg yolk and may need some or all the egg white depending on whether the pastry dough needs more moisture.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - or vanilla essence.
• Water - use only if the pastry dough is still too dry after adding the egg white.

How to prepare by hand

Rub the butter into the flour either using your fingers or a pastry blender.

Sift the icing sugar into the bowl containing the butter and flour, add the ground almonds, egg yolk and vanilla extract and mix to form a ball of dough. If the pastry is too dry add some or all the egg white. If the dough is still dry (which is sometimes the case particularly in cold weather) add a small amount of water until it can be formed into a ball of dough.

How to prepare using a food processor

Place the flour and butter in the food processor and pulse until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Add the icing sugar, egg yolk and vanilla extract and pulse again until the ingredients have combined to form a dough. Ad some or all of the egg white if the dough is too dry,.

To roll out

Chill the pastry dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling out.

Roll out to a thickness of about 3 mm on a lightly floured board.

Lay over a tart dish, gently press into position and trim the excess pastry.

Storage

• Wrap the pastry dough in cling film or place in an airtight container and store in the fridge where it will keep until the next day.
• Alternatively, the lined pastry case can be wrapped and stored in the fridge until the next day.
• The unbaked pastry can also be frozen, either as a ball of dough or after lining a pastry case.

Tip

When making sweet almond pastry you may need to adjust the amount of moisture. Start by using just the egg yolk and add the egg white only if needed. If any further liquid is needed to bind the dough add a small amount of cold water. Use only enough water to bind the pastry dough and be careful not to add too much.

Recipes using sweet shortcrust pastry