This is my take on Pâte Sucrée which is a sweet shortcrust pastry, the twist being I have included more ground almonds in my recipe and less flour, whereas traditionally you have the opposite. I developed this recipe specifically for my Lemon and White Meringue Chocolate Pie. I wanted to have a third texture and flavour to the pie given you have the soft marshmallowy meringue and the smooth zingy lemon set curd. I needed a firm yet crumbly base with a hint of almond. The wonder of this pastry, I soon discovered, is that pre-baked it is very malleable. It may crack when you put it into tins, however, you can treat it like a paste and press it into place and patch it up. Provided you chill it at all times like any other pastry, it will bake perfectly and not shrink!
Makes approx. 520g
Hands-on Time 10 minutes
Ingredients
200g Plain flour
90g Ground almonds
150g Unsalted butter, cubed (chilled)
75g Caster sugar
1 Egg yolk, medium
1tsp Water (cold)
Equipment
Mixing bowl
Spoon
Clingfilm
Add the flour and almonds to the bowl and mix together using your hands.
Add the chilled butter and rub into the flour using the tips of your fingers like you’re making a crumble.
You should make a course breadcrumb.
Add the sugar and stir into the crumb mix using a spoon.
Add the egg yolk/water and mix into the breadcrumbs and combine using the spoon. You should find a dough starts to form. I find it’s better to combine using a spoon than your hands as you’re less likely to overwork the dough and also soften the butter from the heat of your body.
Add more water, a teaspoon at a time, only if you think it needs it, although you shouldn’t.
Place the dough onto a large piece of clingfilm, flatten, and wrap up.
Pop the dough into the fridge to chill. If you’re using it a lot later than double wrap in clingfilm and pop into the freezer and de-frost thoroughly before use.
Enjoy!
Things you can make with Almond Sweet Shortcrust Pastry: