Sweet shortcrust pastry shell

MAKES 500G / PREPARATION 25 MINUTES PLUS RESTING TIME / COOKING 30 MINUTES

1 egg

¼ teaspoon vanilla essence

½ cup (60g) very lightly packed icing sugar 2 cups (250g) flour

¼ teaspoon salt

180g cold unsalted butter, cut into 5cm cubes

In a small bowl beat together the egg, vanilla essence and icing sugar. Put the flour and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse to combine. Scatter the cubes of cold butter evenly over the flour. Pulse until barely combined. Pour in the egg mixture and pulse until just evenly combined, but not coming together in a ball. Tip the mixture onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead together until smooth. Flatten into a wide disc, wrap in greaseproof paper and chill for 1 hour.

Remove from the fridge and leave at room temperature for 10 minutes to soften. On a lightly floured surface, or between 2 sheets of baking paper, roll the pastry out to a 30cm circle. Use to line a 23-24cm pie dish or loose-bottomed tin. Gently fold the pastry into the edge of the tin and press it up the walls, trying not to stretch the pastry as you go. Trim the overhang to 1½cm then fold this back into the tin, pressing the pastry to achieve a tidy, slightly raised edge. Prick the base all over with a fork. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes. Heat the oven to 190°C.

Line the pastry with foil and fill with baking beans. Bake for 15 minutes then remove the foil and beans and bake for a further 15 minutes. If using for a pie that requires further cooking, reduce the cooking time to 20 minutes.