We have found the perfect recipe for homemade pie crust. Incredibly flaky, buttery and simply delicious for both sweet and savory cakes. Follow our simple steps and you’ll be well on your way to creating cake masterpieces everyone will love!
The best flaky, buttery homemade pie crust
There aren’t many things I love more than cake – especially when it’s made with a super fluffy and delicious pie crust. And while the cake base isn’t exactly difficult to master, it often goes wrong. I’ve eaten a lot of chewy, dense, undercooked, and/or flavorless pie shells. And let’s be honest. The crust is half the reason we come to the show.
But I have good news. Perfectly fluffy and delicious homemade pie crust is absolutely achievable. All it takes is the right recipe and a few tips. And today I bring you both. They’re ready to deliver amazing homemade cakes – from sweet to savory – in no time, all season long.
Ingredients you will need to make a flaky homemade pie crust:
- Flour
- butter
- Butter flavored shortening
- milk
- Salt
How to prepare the perfect homemade pie crust:
- Place flour and salt in a medium-sized bowl; throw together. Add the cold butter and shortening and mix with a mixer or fork. It looks crumbly and has pea-sized chunks.
- Add the milk and stir. DO NOT mix too much. Gently squeeze the crust and divide into two equal pieces.
- Wrap in cling film and shape into a disc. Chill for at least an hour.
- Remove from the fridge and roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. You want to work quickly so the dough stays cold. Roll out the crust into a 12 inch circle.
- Place the dough in a pie crust and curl the edges with a fork or your fingers.
- Add the filling, or if pre-baking, line the bottom with parchment or foil and fill with cake weights.
- Bake according to recipe instructions. For a par-baked crust, bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Carefully remove cake weights and topping, prick crust with a fork, and continue baking for an additional 13-15 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Allow to cool completely before adding the filling.
Tips and Suggestions:
Use cold butter and shortening. This is absolutely necessary to create those beautiful flaky layers! After mixing, place the dough back in the fridge to cool before baking.
Don’t mix too much! You want to keep a few nice, pea-sized chunks of butter and shortening in your batter. Again, this is what helps create all of the levels we aspire to.
Roll out nice and thin. Your pie dough should be about 1/8 inch thick. If it’s thin, it tears easily. If the batter is thick, it will not cook through and the pie crust will not be sufficiently baked.
Freeze the excess cake batter. Freezing extra pie dough is a great way to save time in the future. Place slices of tart dough wrapped in cling film in sealable freezer bags for up to 6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before using.
Before baking, brush the top crust with egg or cream. This will give your crust a beautiful, deep golden color. Sprinkle with coarse sugar if you like.
Flaky homemade cake base
Our homemade pie crust is incredibly flaky, buttery and simply delicious for both sweet and savory cakes.
Servings: 2 crusts
Calories: 293kcal
- 2 1/2 cups Flour
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 Cup unsalted butter cold, cut into small cubes
- 1/2 Cup Butter flavored shortening
- 1/2 Cup cold milk
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Mix the flour, salt, butter and shortening with a pastry mixer. Add the milk and squeeze the mixture with your hands. Don’t knead too hard at this point, otherwise it won’t be as fluffy.
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Divide into two balls and wrap with cling film. Form into discs and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, to overnight.
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Remove from the fridge and roll out one disc at a time on a lightly floured surface. Put a little sprinkles on top of the dough and on your rolling pin to prevent sticking. You want to roll out the dough to a 12 inch circle for a standard 9 inch pie plate size. To prevent sticking, you can gently lift the dough and turn it a little between rolling with the rolling pin.
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Using a spatula, gently transfer the batter into your cake pan. Carefully arrange the dough to fit your cake pan, trim the edges and decorate.
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At this point you can add your filling if you want to make a double bottom cake. Then repeat the same steps with the other sheet of dough. Follow the baking instructions for the cake you are baking.
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If you only want to bake a single layer, once the dough is in the tin, line the dough with parchment paper, making sure to cover the bottom and sides. Place pie weights on top of the parchment paper and try to push the weights up the sides as much as possible to prevent the sides from shrinking down. If you don’t have cake weights, you can use dried beans too!
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If par-baking the crust, preheat your oven to 375°F. Bake for 15-16 minutes until edges begin to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and lift the parchment paper out of the cake. Using a fork, quickly poke holes in the bottom of the cake. Place the tart back in the oven and bake for another 7-8 minutes.
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If you need a fully baked crust, remove the parchment and pie weights, return and bake the pie for another 13 to 15 minutes.
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For a no-bake cake, allow the base to cool completely before adding the filling. For a pie that you want to bake with the filling, you can put the filling on a warm crust.
Calories: 293kcal | Carbohydrates: 24G | Protein: 4G | Fat: 20G | Saturated Fatty Acids: 9G | Polyunsaturated fat: 3G | Monounsaturated fatty acids: 7G | trans fats: 2G | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 239mg | Potassium: 55mg | Fiber: 1G | Sugar: 1G | Vitamin A: 303IU | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg
www.superhealthykids.com
Natalie Monson
I’m a registered nutritionist, mother of four, avid food lover and strong advocate of healthy habits. Here you will find many delicious fruit and vegetable recipes, tips on how to get your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters, and many resources for feeding your family.
Learn more about Natalie