Perfect Pie Crust

1. Mix flour, sugar and salt:

   Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to mix.

2. Add the butter half-way through, pulsing several times after each addition:

   Place about half the butter in the food processor and pulse several times. Then add the remaining butter and pulse 6 to 8 times until the largest chunks of butter are about the size of large peas.

3. Slowly add the ice water:

   Sprinkle the mixture with 4 tablespoons of the ice water (make sure there are no ice cubes in the water!) and pulse again. Then add more ice water, tablespoon at a time, pulse once or twice after each addition until the dough is just beginning to hold together. You may not need all of the water.

   The mixture is ready when a small handful of the crumbly dough holds together when you pinch it with your fingers.

4. Make two discs of dough:

   Carefully empty the crumbly batter mixture from the food processor onto a clean, dry, flat surface. Gather the mixture in a mound.

   Divide the batter mixture into two equal mounds. Using your hands, knead each mound just enough to shape each into a disc. Don’t over knead! Kneading creates gluten, which makes the dough tougher, which you don’t want in a pastry crust. You should only knead enough for the dough to hold together without cracking.

   If you started with cold butter, you should be able to see small chunks of butter on the dough. That is a good thing. These little chunks of butter spread out in layers as the crust cooks, leaving you with a flaky crust!

   Dust each slice with a little flour, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or up to 2 days.

5. Take the dough out of the fridge and let it rest for a few minutes:

   Take a slice of crust out of the fridge. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to soften just enough to make rolling out a bit easier.

6. Roll out the dough and place in a cake tin:

   Using a rolling pin, roll out into a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured surface; about 1/8 inch thick. As you roll out the dough, check to see if the dough is sticking to the surface underneath. If necessary, add a few sprinkles of flour under the dough to prevent the dough from sticking.

   Gently place on a 9 inch cake stand. Gently press the pie dough down so that it lines the bottom and sides of the pie stand.

   Use kitchen scissors to trim the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the cake pan.

7. Add filling to the pie

8. Roll out the second disc and place it on the filling:

   Roll out the second sheet of dough as before. Place carefully on the filling of the cake.

   Cut off excess dough with kitchen scissors, leaving a 3/4 inch overhang. Fold the edge of the top piece of dough over and under the edge of the bottom piece of dough and pinch.

   Roll up the edges with your thumb and forefinger or press down with a fork.

   Score the top of the cake with four 2-inch slits to allow steam to escape from the cake.

How to pre-bake a pie crust

If your prescription calls for a pre-baked Crust, like many custard pie recipes, follow all of the above steps for a single, bottom crust, with no filling.

1. Freeze the crust for at least half an hour:

   until chilled. This is an important step in pre-baking. Otherwise the crust will slide down the sides.

   Preheat your oven to 350°F.

2. Line the cake base with aluminum foil:

   When the cake base has cooled sufficiently, line the cake base with aluminum foil. Leave the foil overhanging two sides by a few inches to make it easier to lift to remove the pie weights after baking.

3. Fill with pie weights:

   Fill the crust to the brim with pie weights – dry beans, rice, or sugar. (Sugar works best.)

4. Bake:

   Bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes if making a crust for a cake that needs further baking, such as a cake. B. a quiche. Bake for 60 to 75 minutes if you’re making a crust for a cake that you don’t need to bake further.

5. Cool completely before filling:

   You may need to cover the edges of the cake with aluminum foil while baking to prevent the edges from drying out too much and burning.

   For more detailed instructions and photos on how to blind bake a crust click here.

Combination butter and shortening crust

1. make dough:

   Combine flour, salt and sugar in a food processor; mix pulse. Add the butter and pulse 4 times.

   Add the shortening in tablespoon sized pieces and pulse 4 more times. The mixture should resemble coarse cornmeal, with bits of butter no bigger than peas.

   Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of ice water over the flour mixture. Pulse a few times. If you squeeze some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it’s done.

   If the batter doesn’t hold together, continue to add water, teaspoon by teaspoon, beating once after each addition until the mixture just starts to clump together.

2. Form washers:

   Remove the dough from the machine and place it on a clean surface.

   Divide the dough into 2 balls and flatten each into 4 inch wide discs.

   Don’t over knead the dough!

   Lightly dust the slices with flour, wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days before rolling out.

3. Roll out the dough:

   After the dough has chilled in the fridge for an hour, you can take it out to roll. If it’s too firm, you may need to let it rest at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before rolling.

   On a flat, clean work surface, sprinkle a little flour on the disc of dough you want to roll out. (We’ll use a Tupperware pastry sheet with the pie circles already marked on it.)

   Apply light pressure with a rolling pin as you roll the dough outwards from the center.

   From time to time you may need to gently scrape under the dough (a spatula works great for this) to make sure it doesn’t stick.

   You have a large enough piece of dough if you place the pie pan or pie pan upside down on the dough and the dough overhangs at least 2 inches all the way around.

4. Put in the cake pan:

   When the dough is the right size, gently fold it in half. Lift and place the dough so that the folded edge is along the center line of the pie pan. Unfold gently. Don’t stretch the dough.

5. For plain crust cakes: trim edges:

   If you are only making a single crust pie, use kitchen scissors to trim the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the pan. Tuck the overhang under you along the rim of the cake pan. Use your fingers in a pinching motion or the tines of a fork to curl the edge of the pie crust.

6. If you are making double crust pies: Roll the second crust:

   If you are making a double crust pie, roll out the second sheet of dough. Place carefully on the filling of the cake. Use kitchen scissors to trim the overhang down to an inch. Fold the edge of the top piece of dough over and under the edge of the bottom piece of dough and pinch. Finish the double crust by pressing against the edges of the cake with your fingertips or with a fork.

7. Make air holes at the top:

   Use a sharp knife to cut holes in the top of the pie crust to allow steam to escape while the pie bakes.

   Before scoring, you may want to paint the top of your crust with an egg wash (this gives a nice finish).

wash egg

A beautiful topping for a cake can be achieved with a simple egg wash.

1. Whisk the egg yolk with the cream and brush the top of the cake with a pastry brush.