I developed this sweet almond shortcrust pastry recently as a base for my Blueberry Frangipane Tart and it was absolutely gorgeous. It definitely warrants its own recipe post as it would be a fabulous base for so many sweet desserts.
Opt for frangipane like me or try it for bakewell tart, lemon tart, mini raspberry and chocolate tarts, lemon meringue pie, key lime pie and more. It would also be lovely filled with creme patisserie and topped with berries, like those amazing little French bakery tarts I miss so much!
This sweet almond shortcrust pastry is based on my classic gluten free shortcrust pastry, but with the simple variation of ground almonds and some extra sugar it turns into a patisserie-worthy delight! The texture is short and the flavour is the perfect balance of buttery sweetness. The almond flavour is very subtle, so that won’t affect the overall flavour of the end bake and makes this pastry the perfect partner for all sorts of fillings.
You should find this almond shortcrust pastry easy to work with and it works for both large pastry cases and mini tarts, as it holds its form well even when rolled quite thin. It has a short chill time too (only 30 minutes), so won’t take you all day to make.
Ground Almonds vs Almond Flour
This recipe calls for ground almonds, which are finely ground almonds rather than a milled flour. Almond flour is finer and has a lower fibre content. I would recommend sticking to using ground almonds for this recipe for the best results.
Can I Make This Pastry Ahead of Time?
Yes – if you need to make this pastry in advance and chill overnight that is fine. You will find it may be a little crumbly when you start working with it, after a long chill. To recover the correct texture (i.e. easy to work with and roll), simply break it into pieces, sprinkle with a few drops of water and knead the dough until pliable again.
Gluten Free Sweet Almond Shortcrust Pastry Recipe
This recipe makes approximately 400g of almond shortcrust pastry. You’ll find a full method below, plus some photos to help guide you through the recipe. However, feel free to email me any questions or comments you might have. You can contact me at [email protected] or message me on Instagram/Facebook @myglutenfreeguide. I love seeing your home bakes too so please send me photos of your creations :).
Lastly, if you enjoy my almond shortcrust recipe, I would be really grateful if you could leave a star rating or review on the recipe card below. Thank you!
Laura xxx
Sweet Almond Shortcrust Pastry (GF)
Ingredients
- 200g gluten free plain flour (I used FREEE by Doves Farm)
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 40g ground almonds
- 1.5 tbsp caster sugar
- 120g butter, chilled
- 1 large egg
- 1-2 tbsp water
Instructions
- Sift the 200g flour, 1 tsp xanthan gum and 1.5 tbsp sugar into a large mixing bowl, then add the 40g ground almonds. Stir to combine.
- Grate the 120g chilled butter into the bowl (use the large grater setting on a cheese grater) and toss the butter strands through the flour with a spoon. Once the butter is coated with flour, use your finger tips to rub the butter into the flour until you have a coarse breadcrumb-like texture.
- Beat one large egg and add to the bowl. Stir through with the spoon.
- Add 1 tbsp water (you may not need the second) and use your hands to bring the ingredients together to form a nice ball of dough. It should come away from the sides of the bowl and be a slightly sticky dough, but will form into a ball. If it is still a bit crumbly, add the second tbsp water and work to combine.
- Take a large piece of greaseproof paper (approx 30cm long) and place the ball of dough on the waxed, non-stick side. Press it down gently with your hands to form an oval shape a couple of cm thick. Now fold the paper over to cover the other side of the dough and then fold the edges over so that you have a nice little dough parcel. Now place into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
- Unwrap the chilled dough and place the greaseproof paper on your worktop. Dust well with gluten free flour and pop the dough on top. Place a 30cm piece of cling film on top of the dough.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the pastry out to 0.5cm thick in a large circular shape - wide enough to completely cover the tart tin and sides. If there's any breaking or uneven edges you can just patch them up easily with other pieces of pastry.
- Carefully ease the side of the pastry onto the floured rolling pin, then carefully slide onto the tart tin. OR you can also flip the greaseproof paper and dough over onto the tart tin, then carefully peel the greaseproof off.
- Gently tuck the pastry into the tin, pressing down to completely cover the base and around the sides. Use a sharp knife to slice off any excess pastry (you can save these offcuts in the fridge for later use). You should be left with a nice neat edge.
- Use a fork to gently prick holes in the base of the pastry tart (image below). Place the used greaseproof paper on top of the pastry and tin, adding baking beads to fill (see image below) so that you can "blind bake" the tart. Place it into the oven to blind bake for 10 minutes at 180C.
- Now remove the tart case from the oven, lift out the baking beads and greaseproof paper and return to the oven (uncovered) to bake for 10 minutes at 160C (fan).
- The almond shortcrust case should now be cooked through (add 5 minutes to the cooking time if it still looks raw on the bottom). Remove from the oven and place onto a wooden board or heatproof mat. Then you add your filling of choice and bake per requirements/chill to set.
You can now use the pastry for the recipe of your choice. My general approach to cooking this pastry for a large tart (24cm loose bottomed tart tin) is as follows:
For more tasty bakes, why not check out some of my other gluten free recipes while you are here:
Happy baking! Laura xxx
