For the kitchen experiments series, today I will talk about my shortcrust pastry with cream. A recipe that was born, as is my habit, without much study and without thinking too much.

I had bought a jar of whipping cream with intentions that have now been lost in oblivion…
…eh eh, no, well, actually, not oblivion, because I remember very well why I bought it!
I wanted to use it to decorate a beautiful creamy cake for my wedding anniversary!
These were, exactly these were my intentions.

Only that this year the anniversary fell on a Monday, and my working Mondays lately are really days to forget, so the only dessert I managed to make, and strictly after work, was a tart.
At my house, the tart is the most requested and appreciated dessert, has the advantage of being one of those quick desserts to make, and for which the ingredients are always at home (something not to be underestimated when you are, like me, someone who almost always has an empty fridge and a deserted pantry). A shortcrust is kneaded quickly, it can rest perhaps for only a few minutes instead of the standard half-hour, and after only 15-20 minutes of baking, you find yourself with a beautiful already baked tart ready to serve, maybe after a very useful cooling round on the windowsill. 😉

That’s why for me, kneading a shortcrust is equivalent to making the capital-D Dessert of my house. If I have a doubt and don’t know what to do for any occasion, I go ahead and make the shortcrust, then we’ll see.

At this point, after all this preamble, perhaps you are wondering why on earth I have unveiled a brand new recipe, tried at the last minute on such a day, and with so little time.

Why not make a tried-and-true recipe? Like a normal classic shortcrust, with which to make a classic tart, the kind that never fail? These are not the times to take risks, these are not the occasions to experiment!

And yet no. I experimented.
Goodness gracious, I bought the cream specifically to make the anniversary dessert! and one way or another, it had to end up in the anniversary dessert! And it did! 😃

〰〰〰

Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Economical
Rest time: 30 Minutes
Preparation time: 10 Minutes
Portions: 1 loaf
Cooking methods: No cooking
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients

12.35 oz all-purpose flour
3.53 oz butter
2.82 oz fresh liquid cream
3.53 oz sugar
1 egg
1 packet vanillin
Half packet baking powder for desserts

Tools

Bowl

Steps

Pour the flour into a large bowl and create a central hole.
Pour in the sugar and egg, add the soft butter in pieces, the liquid cream, and the vanillin.
👉 Remember to always add the vanillin to the fat component – in this case, the butter and cream – because they convey the aroma better.
Work with your fingertips until the sugar has dissolved, adding a little flour at a time.
Work quickly.
☝ Compared to the shortcrusts I’ve talked about before, like the hazelnut shortcrust pastry and the spelt flour tart, this shortcrust with cream doesn’t have the problem of the dough “crumbling.” The moisture component provided by the cream is not lacking here.
Once the dough is obtained, put it in the fridge as always for about half an hour before using it.
(But if you’re in a hurry to make your tart, you can also shorten the times).
I made this shortcrust pastry with cream three times:
The first time to make the anniversary tart. Just this one:
which I photographed before baking, and which I also showed you on the fb page, remember? 😊
I redid this shortcrust a second time for cookies – or rather little cookies, as they were so small – for breakfast. I managed to save four, but only four in number as you can see, from the clutches and jaws of my children, and kept them hidden for several days before managing to take this photo!
The wait was not in vain because it allowed me to test the conservation of this shortcrust: these four little cookies kept very well and when I ate them, that is about four or five days after baking, they were still nice and crumbly 😉
Finally today. While I’m editing and completing this article, my third loaf of shortcrust pastry with cream is in the fridge. Ten minutes ago, just after kneading it, I photographed it and now I’m uploading the photos here.
However… I still haven’t decided what to do with this loaf.
A tart? Cookies?
Any suggestions? 😄
Update: I ended up making these tortelli. Did you see them, right? 😉