Rich Shortcrust Pastry with Butter Recipe
Ingredients
Make 2 × 7 Flan cases
3 cups/ 350 g/ 12 Oz plain (all purpose) flour
¾ cup / 2 tbsp / 200 g / 7 Oz block margarine or butter
1 egg yolk,
2 tbsp water
Preparation Method
1. Preheat a conventional oven to 400 F/ 200 C/ Gas Mark 6.
2. Sift the flour into a bowl and cut the fat into small pieces. Rub it in with the fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in the center of the mixture and drop in the egg yolk with half the water. Mix with a round-bladed knife (metal spatula), adding the remaining water gradually until the pastry forms a dough a dough which leave the bowl clean. Knead lightly, wrap in cling film (plastic wrap) and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
3. Arrange the flan rings on plastic baking (cookie) sheets or use flan dishes.
4. Roll out half the pastry to fit the ring or dish with 2in/5 cm to spare. Lift the pastry carefully on the rolling pin and ease into the ring. Press gently into the shape of the ring without stretching. Trim the top with the rolling pin or a sharp knife if using a china dish.
5. Prick the bottom with a fork and line a round of grease-proof (non-stick baking) paper. Cover with baking beans and cook in the for 15 minutes. Remove the baking beans and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Note: It is possible to cook the pastry in a plain china flan dish in the microwave oven but the resulting pastry is less attractive.
To do this, cover the edges of the flan with a thin strip of foil to prevent drying out. Cover the flan with kitchen towels and cook for 4 minutes on full power. Remove the foil and paper and cook for a further 2 minutes.
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