One of the queens of pastry, certainly the shortcrust pastry! It is a basic dough, usually made of flour, sugar, butter, and eggs in different quantities, balanced to make cookies, pies, and more.
However, it is not always possible to eat eggs, as many people are allergic or intolerant. The same goes for butter.
My version of eggless shortcrust pastry can be made with either butter or margarine.
In this specific recipe, I used a special homemade margarine (I promise that as soon as I can make a video to explain this complex process, I will post it here on the blog).
You can use regular margarine.
Other vegan recipes:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Economical
- Rest time: 15 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Oven, Electric Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
- 4 cups Flour (type 1)
- 1 1/4 cups Vegetable Margarine (or butter)
- 3/4 cups Powdered Sugar
- to taste Lemon Zest
- 1 pinch Salt
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
Tools
- 1 Stand Mixer
- 1 Paddle Attachment
Preparation
I almost always use the sandblasting method.
The sandblasting method is one of the methods for kneading shortcrust pastry. It certainly gives a crumblier and at the same time compact structure.
A regular sandblasting of the dough must be done in a mixer since doing it by hand would be a very difficult task: the essential accessory is the paddle attachment (also called beater, K, etc.).
Start by mixing at medium-low speed the flour, baking powder, and margarine or butter cut into cubes (the latter should be just taken out of the fridge, not soft): at this stage, the flour particles are coated by the fat, making the flour impermeable.
How do you know when this phase reaches the optimal point? Simply, the flour and butter transform into a composition similar to sand, let’s say with the same appearance as grated cheese; at this point, add the sugar, flavors, and salt.
In 1 minute the shortcrust will be perfectly kneaded, almost detaching from the sides of the mixer.
Throw the mixture onto the table and compact it into a dough, using your hands.
Your shortcrust pastry is ready for any use.
Storage
This type of shortcrust, not containing raw eggs, can be stored in the fridge for several days before being used.
