Well-known personality and former Miss South Africa Amy Kleinhans-Curd shares her shortcrust pastry recipe in time for Christmas. Find her Festive Foolproof Cherry pie (pictured above) in our December issue, on shelf now.

(Serves 6)

INGREDIENTS

½ cup ice cold water

1t apple cider vinegar

1¾ cups plus 2Tall-purpose flour

2T cornflour

1t salt

2T granulated sugar

12T unsalted butter, very cold and cut into cubes

METHOD

1. Combine the water and apple cider vinegar; place in the freezer to get nice and cold until needed

2. In a large bowl combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, and sugar; whisk well to combine. Add the cold butter cubes and toss them in the flour, making sure each piece gets coated.

3. Using a pastry cutter or bench scraper, cut the flour and butter together until the pieces of butter are the size of peas. Slowly add in the cold water and cut it into the mixture until there are just a few bits of loose flour left. If the dough is too dry and doesn’t hold together when pinched, add in cold water, one teaspoon at a time, until the dough comes together.

4. Gather the dough together and carefully pour it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently knead the dough into a ball. Scrape up the dough and form it into a disk. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before use.

5. Lightly flour a rolling pin and a work surface. Set the dough in the middle of the work surface and – beginning from the centre of the disc – roll the dough away from you in one firm and even stoke.

6. After each stroke, rotate the disc a quarter turn clockwise and roll again. Lightly sprinkle more flour on the work surface, on the dough, and on the rolling pin as needed. Continue rolling until the dough is 4– 5cm longer than the pan you are using.

7. Use your hands to gently fit the dough down into the pan, making sure there are no gaps between the dough and the pan. Burst any air bubbles with a fork and trim the dough overhang to ¾cm from the inner rim of the pan.

8. Cover the crust with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 48 hours.

*COOKS TIP: Remove the dough from the fridge 10 minutes before you begin rolling, as dough that is too cold will crack.