Cocoa shortcrust pastry is one of the most indulgent bases of homemade pastry: crumbly, fragrant, and intensely colored, perfect for cookies, pies, and irresistible tartlets. Just add some good quality unsweetened cocoa to the traditional dough to obtain a soft pastry to work with and a rich flavor, capable of turning any recipe into a small chocolate sin. In this guide, I will show you how to prepare it simply and infallibly, with all the tricks to achieve perfect consistency and balanced flavor, so you can serve desserts that will win over both adults and children.
here are other shortcrust pastry recipes:
- Cost: Very economical
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 10
- Cooking methods: Oven, Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/8 cups butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg (whole)
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 pinch salt
Tools
- 1 Bowl
Steps
Mix dry ingredients
In a large bowl, sift flour and unsweetened cocoa to remove any lumps.
Add salt and mix well.Butter sablage
Add the cold butter cubes to the dry ingredients.
Work quickly with your fingertips or with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle: you should achieve a crumbly texture, similar to crumble.
This step is essential for a crumbly pastry.
Add sugar and eggs
Incorporate the sugar and mix.
Add the egg yolks and whole egg (and vanilla if using).
Knead just enough to form a compact dough, without warming the mixture too much.
Compact and rest
Transfer the dough to a work surface and compact it with your hands.
Form a dough ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30-60 minutes.
Resting allows the butter to firm up and the pastry to be easier to roll out.
Roll out and use
Take the dough out and let it soften for 5 minutes at room temperature.
Roll out the pastry with a rolling pin between two sheets of parchment paper or on a lightly floured surface.
Use the pastry for cookies, pies, tartlets, or cocoa dessert bases.
Bake according to the preparation you need to make (generally 320°F).
Tips for perfect cocoa pastry
If the dough is too dry, add 1 tablespoon of milk.
If it’s too soft, add 1 tablespoon of flour or extend the resting time in the fridge.
Avoid overworking the dough: the secret is to manipulate as little as possible.
For extra aromatic pastry, add a pinch of instant coffee or cinnamon.
