How to Make Sweet Pastry
What is sweet pastry?
- 250g of unsalted butter
- 175g of icing sugar, sieved
- 2 eggs
- 400g of plain flour
- 1 pinch of salt
- Cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer very lightly – do not overmix, or you will add too much air to the pastry
- Gradually add the eggs, mixing well between each addition. Make sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl so that all the ingredients are uniformly mixed
- Turn off the mixer and add the flour and salt. Mix on a low speed until the flour is incorporated
- Turn the dough out onto a work surface and shape into a rough disc. Wrap tightly in cling film and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before rolling out
Sweet pastry is a type of shortcrust pastry that is – as you can probably guess – sweet! It is sometimes richer than savoury shortcrust pastry too, as it often uses more butter than regular shortcrust and an egg or egg yolk. It’s used for making sweet pies and tarts, and is generally a little softer than savoury shortcrust thanks to the addition of sugar. While making savoury shortcrust generally just has one method – cut butter into flour, bring the crumbs together with water – sweet pastry can be made in a couple different ways. You can cut butter into flour, and then add a liquid like an egg or water (this is called sablage), or you can cream together the butter and sugar is if you were making a cake, and then add flour (this is called crémage).
In French patisserie each style of shortcrust has its own specific name. However, in British recipes the terms ‘sweet pastry’, ‘tart dough’ or ‘sweet shortcrust pastry’ are applied to any shortcrust with sugar, regardless of how it’s made.
Sweet pastry is also different from American pie dough, which is much flakier and made with larger pieces of butter and more water. You can astry.
