Foolproof Shortcrust Pastry by the Simili Sisters
This foolproof shortcrust pastry from the Simili sisters is truly delicious and very versatile; it’s especially suitable for cream-topped pies— I often use it for chocolate tarts.
Twins Margherita and Valeria Simili – universally known as “the Simili Sisters” – are famous worldwide and teach courses in Europe, America and Japan, always with great success. Every recipe they share is a guaranteed hit, so this shortcrust pastry recipe is a safe bet.
N.B.: The secret to a successful shortcrust pastry is to use POWDERED sugar and make sure the butter and water are COLD.
Once the shortcrust pastry is ready, use it as you wish. For example, I often use it to prepare my: “Nutella tart that stays creamy after baking”.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 6 servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for the Simili Sisters’ Foolproof Shortcrust Pastry
- 3 1/3 cups 00 flour (weak-gluten; I use Caputo Pasticceria or Garofalo W170)
- 7 oz butter (good quality, COLD (about 14 tbsp / ~1 3/4 US sticks))
- 6 tbsp water (COLD (about 3 fl oz))
- 7/8 cup powdered sugar (it is important that the sugar is powdered)
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 zest of 1 lemon (optional)
Tools for the Simili Sisters’ Foolproof Shortcrust Pastry
- Kitchen scale
- Bowls various sizes
- Sieve stainless steel, 500 g capacity, with spring handle
- Stand mixer Kenwood 1200 W power with twin bowls
- Nonstick baking sheet micro-perforated
Steps for the Simili Sisters’ Foolproof Shortcrust Pastry
I should mention that during their pastry lessons, the Simili sisters always said they dislike adding aromas to shortcrust pastry because, in their opinion, the butter’s flavor should be perceptible. So grated lemon and/or vanilla are optional. Personally, I always add one tablespoon of vanilla.
Rub the butter and flour between your hands, then make a well in the center and incorporate the yolks (one at a time) and the sugar with a fork, beating like an omelette. Add the cold water and mix everything quickly — the dough must not warm up (I actually do everything with the paddle attachment of the stand mixer).
Let the shortcrust pastry rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, but preferably an hour.
Place a sheet of baking paper, dust it with flour and roll out the shortcrust pastry with a rolling pin, not too thin. Then proceed according to the recipe you have chosen to use.
Shopping Tips !!!
To mix perfectly I use my Titanium Chef Patissier XL stand mixer with 7L EasyWarm bowl, integrated scale and blender, a faithful kitchen ally for: kneading, weighing, whipping, cooking, grinding, and pasteurizing eggs.
You can find this stand mixer on Amazon at a special price, click HERE!
If instead you are looking for a cheaper and smaller stand mixer with a 4-liter bowl, you can safely choose to buy the Kenwood KVC7300S Chef Titanium stand mixer, with built-in lighting, rubber whisk and pastry spatula included. #adv
