Sweet Pastry

This rich, sweet shortcrust pastry is perfect for classic dessert tarts and pies. The recipe makes enough for a standard tart. You could make double the quantity, use whatever you need for your tart or pie and freeze the rest. To use the pastry from the freezer, bring it back to fridge temperature overnight or for at least 7 hours. If you prefer, you can use a mixer or food processor to make the pastry, but take care to avoid overworking.

Makes enough for 25cm tart Prep 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 165g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

• 25g ground almonds

• 120g chilled unsalted butter, cubed

• 55g caster sugar

• 1 medium egg

Method

1. Stir in the flour and ground almonds together in a large bowl, then add the butter and rub in your fingertips until the mixture looks like crumbs. Stir in the sugar.

2. Break in the egg and work into the mixture with your fingers, breaking it together to form a soft dough.

3. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a ball. Flatten with your fingers to a disc and wrap in cling film. Chill for at least 3 hours before using.

Taken from Paul Hollywood’s How To Bake, published by Bloomsbury

Photograph © Peter Cassidy