Easy Vegan Shortcrust Pastry (Vegan Pâte Sucrée)

Need an easy vegan shortcrust pastry? I’ve got you covered! This recipe is quick, easy, and ready in a flash.

And no, you don’t need any weird and wonderful ingredients. Just a bit of vegan butter and almond flour.

The Best Vegan Shortcrust Pastry

The best vegan shortcrust pastry is buttery and tender but able to withstand heavy fillings. 

And this is it!

I’ve used this in simple lemon tarts, heavier ganache tarts, and even my legendary dairy free pumpkin pie!

The only thing you might not expect is the almond flour. But it plays a vital role, so don’t skip it!

Almonds are loaded with natural oils, so they ensure every inch of this pastry is rich and moist. Just be sure it’s finely ground, and you’re good to go.

Ingredients:

• All-Purpose Flour - use whole wheat flour if you like, but all-purpose is easy and readily available
• Almond Flour - make your own or buy it ready-made
• Powdered Sugar - you can use granulated sugar, but powdered sugar will blend in and dissolve better
• Vegan Butter - use whatever brand you prefer
• Iced Water - it must be iced to keep the pastry cold

How to Make Easy Vegan Shortcrust Pastry: 

This recipe is enough for a standard pie shell (8-9 inches) with a bit left over for decorations.

1. Grate frozen butter and keep it cold until ready to use.
2. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. then rub the frozen, grated butter in with your fingers.
3. When it looks like breadcrumbs, add the iced water in small amounts until turns into a shaggy dough.
4. Press the dough into a disk, wrap it in cling film, and keep it in the fridge.

How to Blind Bake Vegan Pastry

If you’re making a tart or a pie with liquid filling, you’ll need to blind bake the pastry so it doesn’t get the dreaded soggy bottom.

And it’s a super simple process.

If you’re making a pie with a no-bake filling, you’ll need to bake the case entirely.

But for a pie with a filling that needs baking, just bake it for 10-15 minutes, then add the filling and bake per the instruction in your recipe.

Here’s how:

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C / 350°F with a baking tray on the middle rack.
2. Roll chilled pastry until it’s an inch or two wider than the pie dish, then gently lay it into the dish.
3. Carefully lift the edges and press the dough into the corners with the back of your hand.
4. Roll the rolling pin over the top to cut off the excess pastry and prick all over the bottom with a fork.
5. Then, scrunch up a large piece of parchment paper and gently press it into the dish.
6. Fill the pastry case with baking beans or rice, carefully put the pie dish onto the hot baking tray, and bake for 10-15 minutes.
7. Remove the parchment with the rice or beans, then bake again for another 10-15 minutes.
8. Alternatively, bake with the rice or beans for 10-25 minutes, then add the filling and bake as instructed.

Tips for The Best Vegan Shortcrust Pastry

• **Blend the almond flour to make it extra fine. **Some store-bought bags of ground almonds can make the vegan pastry grainy. So to ensure it’s tender, blend the almond meal - just don’t do it for too long because it will turn to marzipan.

• Be gentle with the pastry. As with any pastry recipe, the key is to be gentle and not to overmix it. It should look kind of shaggy when you turn it onto the kitchen counter. Then you just press it to bring it together.

• **Roll it thinly. **If you leave the pastry too thick, it’ll be soggy. Also, it won’t have the same buttery, crisp finish.

• Use a tart tin with a removable base. This will make it so easy to lift the tart out.

• **Chill and rest the pastry before use. **If you try to use this right away, it’ll shrink in the dish and pull away from the sides. That’s why you need to let it chill and rest.

• Instead of blind baking the case, bake the filled tart or pie on a hot tray. Just leave the tray in the oven as it preheats, then bake the tart or pie on that hot tray. Even with a liquid filling, the added heat should help the bottom to cook properly.