Description
This Vegan Shortcrust Pastry recipe offers a buttery, flaky base perfect for both sweet and savory tarts. Made without any animal products, it’s an ideal gluten-friendly alternative to traditional shortcrust pastry, featuring cold vegan butter and all-purpose flour to create a versatile, easy-to-make dough that parbakes and blind-bakes beautifully, providing a crisp and golden tart shell for your favorite fillings.
Ingredients
Scale
Pastry Ingredients
- 165 g all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 100 g vegan butter (block-style, cold, cubed)
- 25 g granulated sugar (organic if based in the US)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon non-dairy milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven and prepare pan: Preheat your oven to fan-forced 160°C/320°F or conventional 180°C/356°F. Lightly grease the base and sides of a 9-inch round tart tin with oil or vegan butter, and optionally dust with flour. You can also line the base with parchment paper for easier removal.
- Mix and chill the dough: Place the flour, cold vegan butter, sugar, sea salt, non-dairy milk, and optional vanilla extract into a food processor. Blitz for a few seconds until the mixture forms a loose dough. Gather the dough into a ball, flatten it into a disc, wrap in clingfilm or place in an airtight container, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to chill.
- Roll out the dough: On a lightly floured surface, roll out the chilled dough to about an inch larger than the tart tin. Carefully lift the dough over the tin and gently press it into the sides and base. Trim excess dough around the edges, allowing it to rise slightly above the tin. Use a fork to prick holes in the base to prevent puffing during baking.
- Parbake the crust: Cut a sheet of parchment paper to fit the tart, place it over the dough, and fill it with dried beans, rice, lentils, or baking beads to weigh it down. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove the parchment and weights carefully after baking.
- Blind-bake the tart shell: Return the crust to the oven and bake for an additional 12-15 minutes at the same temperature until the pastry turns light golden brown. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. Allow the tart shell to cool completely before filling with ingredients such as pastry cream or lemon curd.
- Storage: Store uncooked pastry dough in the refrigerator for up to 2 days by wrapping it tightly in clingfilm or rolling it into the tart tin and wrapping it. Alternatively, freeze for up to 2 months and defrost overnight in the fridge before use.
Notes
- You can substitute the granulated sugar with a sugar alternative suitable to your dietary needs if desired.
- Using cold vegan butter helps achieve a flakier texture in the pastry.
- The vanilla extract is optional but adds a subtle sweetness and aroma, especially for sweet tart recipes.
- For parbaking, using baking beans or dried legumes can be reused multiple times.
- If making a baked filling tart (like apple or apricot tart), follow the specific recipe’s baking instructions after parbaking.
- Allow the tart to cool fully to ensure the crust remains crisp and sets properly before filling.
