No-butter shortcrust pastry: a light and versatile recipe

pasta frolla senza burro

No-butter shortcrust pastry: a light and versatile recipe.

Olio Farchioni
4.49 from 27 votes
Light, healthy and easy to prepare: it is our no-butter shortcrustpastry!
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Waiting Time 20 mins
Total Time 35 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine Italian
Servings 6 People
Calories 300 kcal

Equipment

  • Sieve
  • Pastry board
  • Cling film

Ingredients
 

  • 300 g Pastry flour
  • 2 Eggs
  • 70 ml Extra virgin olive oil  (or Farchioni’s Special Extra Virgin Olive Oil for Desserts)
  • 100 g Granulated sugar 
  • 1 tsp Baking powder

Instructions
 

  • Beat the eggs. 
  • Add sugar and oil and mix. 
  • Add the sifted flour and baking powder. 
  • Stir the mix with a fork until the dough gets firm. 
  • Put it on a pastry board and knead until smooth. 
  • Wrap it in cling film and let it rest for 20m in the fridge.
pasta frolla senza burro

Shortcrust pastry is the basis for many dessert recipes, such as biscuits, pies, stuffed cakes and strudel. This recipe will teach you to prepare it, not with butter but with extra virgin olive oil. Thanks to our tips it will be healthy, digestible and delicious! 

Shortcrust pastry: have you ever tried it without butter? 


If you’ve never tried to use extra virgin olive oil for your desserts, this is your chance to start!  Besides being perfect for the lactose intolerant, extra virgin olive oil has many other advantages: 

  • It contains a high percentage of monounsaturated fats, which help control blood cholesterol levels. 

  • It contains many antioxidant substances, which counteract cellular ageing. 

  • It is more digestible than butter, and will not harm your stomach and liver. 


Using extra virgin olive oil for shortcrust pastry is not only good for your health, but also for your palate:  

  • It is liquid and therefore blends very well with the dough and makes it easier to work.

  • Pastry will be lighter and crumblier. It will also stay fresh longer (shortcrust pastry prepared with butter dries faster).

  •  The pastry’s flavor will be more intense.


We recommend you use a delicate extra virgin olive oil, which will not hide the flavor of the other ingredients. We selected Farchioni’s Special Extra Virgin Olive Oil for Desserts: it is cold-extracted and enhances the scent and texture of shortcrust pastry. It was specifically developed to substitute for butter and seed oil in desserts. 

No-butter shortcrust pastry: a few tips 

Preparing shortcrust pastry is not difficult: you’ll just need to be patient and follow these tips.

  •  All ingredients should be at room temperature because you want them to blend more easily. 

  • Sift the flour and baking powder in order to prevent any lumps. 

  • Grease your hands with a little oil before kneading the mixture so that it does not stick to your fingers. 

  • When the shortcrust pastry is ready, let it rest in the refrigerator. It will then be firmer and more easily workable.


Now that you know all the secrets, you can get to work! 

  • Discover all our Italian recipes

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