Breads and Pastries – Maggie Beer’s Sour Cream Pastry
I have wanted to try sour cream pastry ever since I saw Maggie Beer make some on the wonderful The Cook and The Chef TV series several years ago.
In the last week I’ve used it twice, once for a light and lovely spring vegetable tart and then to cover a big, boofy beer and beef pie (no more alliteration, I promise). And in each case, it worked beautifully.
This really is a very light and crispy pastry and quite different form your normal fiddly shortcrust. Like the lady herself, it’s no fuss and always provides brilliant results.
To begin with, you will find yourself adding far more butter than you would normally and no egg or water to bind the pastry – the sour cream does the job magnificently. The result is a very soft dough, almost like a scone or damper mixture. When I lined a tart tin, it tore quite easily, but the great thing is that it’s very easy to press back into shape without making a botched mess of the whole thing – it’s wonderful to work with.
In flavour it’s very light, the texture is incredibly flaky, and with all that butter, a perfect foil to the big flavours of the tart or pie it contains. It’s a brilliant all-rounder, perfect for sweet or savoury fillings.
This makes enough to line a 22cm round pie, quiche or tart tin, or enough to cover six large ramekins.
INGREDIENTS
250g plain flour; 200g butter, chilled and cut into small dice; 125ml (½ cup) sour cream
METHOD
Place the flour and butter in the bowl of a food processor and blitz until the pastry resembles fine breadcrumbs. Alternatively, place the flour and butter in a large bowl and rub the butter through your fingertips until you get the same consistency.
Add the sour cream and pulse the machine until the pastry comes together in a large ball away from the edges of the processor bowl. If making by hand, stir the cream through the flour mixture with a wooden spoon, then use your hands to bring it all together.
Turn out the pastry onto a floured bench top and lightly knead it until it comes together in a soft ball. Wrap it up in clingfilm and leave it to chill for at least 30 minutes before using it in your favourite recipe.
COST
$3.00 for one quantity of pastry (enough for a standard sized pie or large tart)
I tried this once..an admit to a total FAIL! Will have to give it another go I think
Oh, that’s a shame, can you think what might have gone wrong? I’d be happy to answer any queries you may have.
No not really, it was just very dry & too crumbly..I’ll give it another go & let you know…:)
This one is definitely NOT crumbly. It does pay to weight your ingredients, though. Good luck!
When I’ve made it I’ve found it shrinks massively when cooked. Did you have that issue at all?
I used it immediately and didn’t follow my own rule about chilling it in the tin, and found it shrank about half a centimetre down the sides of the tin. This didn’t affect the overall results of the flan I was making and so I assumed it wasn’t a problem. Do you chill the pastry once you’ve lined the tin?
I’ve made this several times & love it! So easy, & I dare say cheaper & better for you than bought shortcrust pastry. I have found that it does shrink – will chilling it after lining the tin stop this? I just cut it a bit bigger than it needs to be lol. I also use natural yoghurt, makes it less rich & still turns out beautifully
I think a combination of chilling it well and making it slightly bigger to fit the tin is your best bet Melissa.
Would the pastry freeze? Wondering about making a double batch…
Good question. The short answer is probably. I would suggest you pat it down to be no kore than 2cm in depth and as even as possible, and freeze it in a plastic bag that is as airtight as possible. Bring it back so it is de-frosted but still cool to the touch before rolling it out again.
I have used this at work and it can be frozev down
This is now the only recipe I use for pastry – having tried other recipes in the past and ending up resorting to bought stuff. You’re right – it is great for sweet or savoury. I’ve used it for both and everyone always comments on the pastry (not sure why I bother going to too much trouble with fancy filings!). The added advantage is that is I know what ingredients we are eating instead of random additives.
I love this recipe – I am the world’s worst cook and would never have dreamt of doing pastry – my husband begged me to try the beer and beef pies done on Masterchef and they were fab! I have since done chicken pies and used this pastry as a base for salmon quiches. Am about to use it to do Christmas Fruit Mince pies too – so fingers crossed!