What is shortcrust pastry?

Shortcrust pastry is a type of pastry made with half the quantity of fat to flour. It has a more soft and crumbly texture than pie crust.

Can I make pastry without eggs?

Of course you can! All you need is another binder and you don't need egg at all. For this recipe, we use ground flax seed mixed with warm water to make what is called a 'flax egg'. This is an excellent substitute for eggs in baking! Or should I say egg-cellent?!

Vegan Shortcrust Pastry with Almond Flour

Description

Looking for a Vegan Shortcrust Pastry that's just as good as the real deal? I've got you! This shortcrust pastry is perfectly soft with the best crumb; all while being gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and dairy-free. Made with almond flour and five other pantry staples, you won't believe how heavenly this pastry bakes up!

Ingredients

Units Scale

2 cups almond flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
1/2 tablespoon lemon zest
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed (mixed with 1 tablespoon warm water)

Instructions

Make flax eggs. In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon flax meal with 1 tablespoon warm water. Stir until combined and set aside.
Make the shortcrust pastry. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place almond flour, salt, coconut oil, maple syrup, lemon zest, lemon juice, and the flax egg mixture into a food processor and pulse until mixture comes together. You should be able to pinch a bit off and form it without crumbles to know it's ready.
Bake. Press the dough into the bottom of a lightly greased (I use a little bit of coconut oil) tart pan or muffin tin. You want it pressed tightly so the crumble is minimal when removing from the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until edges get slightly golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool completely while preparing the filling and whipped cream.

Equipment

Food Processor

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Notes

Give the flax eggs time to come together. This usually only takes about 5-10 minutes. You want them to be jelly like before you toss them in.
Make sure your crust is fully combined. You can't overwork this shortcrust dough, so don't be shy when it comes to combining your ingredients. It will look a bit crumbly, but once you start handling it and patting it down in the tart pan it comes together nicely.
Bake until golden brown. This usually takes 8 to 10 minutes, but can change from oven to oven. After about 6 minutes keep an eye on your baking pastry. You want the edges to get that gorgeous light golden brown as pictured above, but not much darker.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Keywords: vegan shortcrust pastry