Today I present to you the recipe for Citrus Shortcrust Pastry with such a delicate flavor that you will be surprised.
A sweet base to prepare tarts and cookies with the fresh taste of citrus fruits!
A highly fragrant shortcrust, the basic recipe is flavored with lemon and orange zest, a real delight.
The delicate and crumbly shortcrust can be filled as you like; excellent filled with ricotta, jam, lemon cream, or citrus cream.
The ingredients must be of excellent quality: cold and fresh butter and untreated citrus fruits, mind you!
Also, remember that the eggs should be at room temperature.
With a small addition of baking powder, it gives elasticity, which is why I call it Easy and Soft Shortcrust Pastry.
Excellent for making tarts, pies, pastieras, or filled cookies or empty shells that need to hold creams and fillings.
Once baked, it will be soft and fragrant.
A quick and easy recipe to prepare, what I love about this shortcrust pastry is that after a short rest in the fridge, it rolls out without breaking, so you will find no difficulty in lining a tart mold.
Once you try it, you won’t leave this recipe, but let’s see now how to make it!
Put on your apron and follow me in the kitchen: that’s exactly where the magic begins!
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Economical
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 10/12
- Cooking methods: No Cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 190.56 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 25.86 (g) of which sugars 9.95 (g)
- Proteins 3.23 (g)
- Fat 8.88 (g) of which saturated 5.58 (g)of which unsaturated 3.17 (g)
- Fibers 0.52 (g)
- Sodium 78.63 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 45 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for the Citrus Shortcrust Pastry
- 2 cups cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cup sugar
- 1/2 cup cup butter (or 85 ml vegetable oil)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 egg (whole, room temperature))
- lemon (zest, grated)
- 1 orange (zest, grated)
- salt (a pinch)
Tools
- Pastry Board
- Kitchen Scale
Steps for the Citrus Shortcrust Pastry
Place the flour and baking powder in the center of a pastry board along with the butter cut into pieces and the grated zest of half a lemon and an orange. (Use untreated fruit).
(Cold butter from the fridge).
Start creating fine crumbs with your hands, then add the sugar, continuing to work everything.
Break an egg and add the salt as well.
(Eggs at room temperature).
At this point, handle it briefly just enough to compact it.
A small but important tip: once compacted, do not handle it further because it should not warm up.
At this point, wrap it in cling film and place it in the refrigerator to firm up for about 30 minutes.
After the time has passed, it is ready to use, your choice.
Dose for a 10-inch pan or for many small cookies, your choice.
Of course, you can use the shortcrust pastry to prepare many truly delicious sweet recipes that will surely please both adults and children.
Filled cookies with jam, also excellent filled tarts with jam and custard, shortcrust rolls or pinwheels.
Baking times (I recommend using a temperature of 350°F, and a baking time varying from ten to twenty or thirty minutes depending on the size and any fillings).
Tips
If your shortcrust does not compact but tends to crumble, it means it has ‘curdled’!
No worries: you can fix it by adding one or two tablespoons of cold egg white or ice water and knead again.
The tart keeps for about 3/4 days covered by a dome.
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FAQ (Questions and Answers) Curiosities about Citrus Shortcrust Pastry
And if I use oil instead of butter?
Preparing shortcrust pastry without butter is very easy and quick, but you need to have some care in the way you handle the ingredients.
You need to work by hand, place the eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt, and oil in a bowl and beat everything with a fork.
Add flour and baking powder gradually and knead by hand to blend all the ingredients well.
At this point, turn the dough onto the kitchen counter or pastry board and shape it into a smooth ball. Let it rest under an overturned bowl for at least half an hour in a cool place. Alternatively, roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper using a rolling pin and place it in the refrigerator to rest directly).
After the resting time, you can use your pastry as a base for a tart or delicious cookies.Can the pastry be frozen?
Just like traditional shortcrust pastry, even the one without butter can be frozen.
Can I use whole wheat flour?
You can use whole wheat flour, but it absorbs a lot, so it may be necessary to use a slightly higher amount of butter.
Is it possible to make the pastry the day before and then use it the next day?
Yes, certainly, store it in the refrigerator.
Can I substitute sugar and in what amounts?
Instead of sugar, you can use 30 grams of stevia or 100 grams of erythritol, of course, you should use a sugar-free jam.
