Easy Pastry (6 different ways)

Slap Degie

Ingredients
250 ml self-raising flour
1 egg
125 ml milk
125 ml vegetable oil
salt/pepper
Method
Place flour in a mixing bowl. Break egg in a cup, fill halfway with milk and then to the top with oil. Beat the egg, milk and oil mixture and add to the flour. Use this  batter/pastry to cover sweet or savory pies.

Easy Puff-pastry

Ingredients
550 g flour
500 g butter
5 ml cream of tartar
5 ml salt
250 ml boiling water
Method
Place the flour and cream of tartar in a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into cubes and pour the boiling water over it and allow to melt to lumpy consistency. Pour over the flour and mix. The mixture will look like thick sour milk, but just pour it out onto some cling film, cover and leave in fridge  until set, a few hours. Roll out and use as needed.

Gluten-free Almond Pastry

Ingredients
500 ml ground macadamia nuts (or almonds )
45 ml butter
1 egg
½ t salt
½ t dry mustard
Method
Place all the ingredients for the crust in a food processor and mix well. Press the dough into a 23cm loose bottom  tart pan and make holes in the pastry with a fork. Place in the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180 C and bake the tart crust until lightly browned. Refrigerate.

Choux Pastry

Ingredients
250 ml boiling water
125 ml butter
250 ml cake flour
3 jumbo eggs or 4 large
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C.  Prepare a baking sheet by  spraying it with non-stick spray or lining it with baking paper. Boil the water in a small pot  and add the butter and allow to melt. Add all the cake flour in at once and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes away from the sides of the pot. Remove from the heat and place the mixture in the bowl of your mixer. Beat the flour mixture for about 1 minute so that it can cool and then add the eggs one by one, beating in between each addition of eggs. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag and pipe 10cm long choux buns on the baking paper. Bake for 25 minutes, remove from the oven and make a small cut on the side of each choux bun to release the steam. Place back in the oven, with heat now reduced to 160C. Bake for another 5 minutes or until choux buns have now hardened. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Sweet Short Crust Pastry

Ingredients
300 g(2 cups) self-raising flour
50 g caster sugar
125 g butter – cold and cubed
3 extra large egg yolks
Ice water
Method
Place flour and sugar into a food processor and pulse until mixed. Add the butter cubes and pulse a few times to cut the butter into the flour mixture. Beat the egg yolks and add it to flour mixture. Pulse a few more times until the dough starts to form a ball. Add a little ice water if too stiff. Remove from the processor and throw out on a floured surface. Bring together with your hands and cover with cling film.  Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Cottage Cheese Pastry

Ingredients
250 ml cottage cheese
250 ml butter – room temperature
250 ml flour
Method
Place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it comes together in a ball. Press into a flat disc and cover with cling film. Keep  in refrigerator until needed.


(Nina Timm)