There are a million uses for Small Pastry Cases. They can be part or fully baked ready for sweet or savoury fillings. Using my buttery American style rough puff pie crust, these cases are delicate yet robust and beautifully flaky.
Roll 500g American Pie Pastry out into a rough rectangle. Use a sharp knife to cut the pastry into 8 pieces. Put all but one of the pieces back into the fridge.
Dust a surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll one piece of dough out to around 3mm/⅛” thick. Use one of the tart tins to make sure that it is big enough to comfortably fit the tin and sides. Use spray oil to lightly coat the tins if you wish.
Gently ease the piece of dough into the tin. Lift the sides on the dough into the centre rather than stretching the dough thinner to make it fit. Use the edge of your finger to make sure the dough is comfortably fitting into the corner of the tin.
Roll over the top of the tin with the rolling pin to cut off the excess pastry. Keep all the scraps in the fridge ready to reroll.
Hold the tin in one hand and use your index finger on the other to press the sides of the pastry into the corner further and into the flutes of the tin. The pasty should squish up a little to be raised above the edge of the tin. This is will help counteract any shrinkage.
Put the tin into the fridge (or freezer), take the next piece of dough and repeat until all the tins are filled. Like me you might need to work in batches. You will need to use your dough scraps for the last few tins. It is a good idea to quickly create some new layers in the pastry by cutting, stacking and rolling a couple of times. Just make sure to keep the dough super cold.
Once all of the tins are lined with pastry, remove from the fridge and place on a baking tray. This will make them much easier to take out and put into the oven.
Add a paper muffin case into each pastry case. Use your fingers to flatten out the ridges so it fits the pastry right to the edges.
Fill each case as full as it will go with baking beans.
Bake the pastry cases for 14 minutes.
Meanwhile separate the egg white from 1 Egg. Add a tiny pinch (⅛ tsp) Salt and mix in.
Remove the tart cases from the oven. Very carefully remove the muffin cases and baking beans. You might find it safest to use a spoon to remove the beads into a heatproof container then the muffin cases.
Use a brush to paint the base and sides of the pastry with a very thin layer of egg white. This will help to seal the pastry.*Stop here if making a recipe with a baked filling*
Bake for a further 8 minutes until light golden brown.
Allow to cool in the tins then carefully remove from the tins. If the pastry has puffed up in the middle and you prefer more filling over a flaky base, use the back of a spoon to push down any risen pastry when it comes out the oven.