Pastry-making is an art and to be successful you do need to practise. However, do give this simple recipe a go. It is a very workable dough and if you are gentle it will be forgiving. Don’t panic if the rolled sheet breaks, you can press the edges together. You need to “rest” the dough between all moves by chilling in the fridge. When you come to rolling, cover the bench with baking paper, dust with flour and roll the pastry out on the paper rather than your bench top. It makes moving the pastry easier.
I used this pastry for the following two recipes. If you don’t feel game, use a bought short crust.
120g butter
120g cream cheese
1 cup of sifted flour
pinch of salt
1 Cut the butter and cream cheese into small cubes and bring to room temperature.
2 Work together in your blender with the flour and salt until it just forms a ball.
3 Remove and knead a little. The dough should feel like soft Plasticine and not be sticky.
4 Wrap and leave in the fridge for an hour.
5 Remove from the fridge, bring to room temperature and roll as above. Dust your rolling pin with flour as well as the surface you are rolling on.
6 When you have an even sheet, sit this on a tray and return to the fridge before using. Rest for at least 15 minutes.