Sweet Short Crust Pastry

This is the most common dessert pastry. It is crumbly, or “short,” similar to shortbread. It’s made by rubbing butter into flour before adding sugar and enough liquid to bind it together. It resists soaking up fluids, making it perfect for fruit pies, custard tarts, or other dishes.

It is important not to overwork the pastry once you have added the liquid, as this causes the gluten in the flour to develop, making the dough elastic and stretchy. You want elasticity in bread, but not in pastry, as it will shrink and become tough when baked. This can also happen if you have a high ratio of liquid to fat in your pastry recipe.