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    Home » Recipes » Pies, Tarts and Pastries

    Chocolate Shortcrust Pastry - Easy Chocolate Pie Crust Recipe

    Published: Mar 7, 2022 · Modified: Aug 13, 2022 by Liz Mincin · This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    An easy recipe for chocolate shortcrust pastry. The perfect way to add an extra chocolate twist to a dessert with a versatile chocolate pie crust or tart shell recipe.

    Close up of chocolate pastry lined tart case.

    Ingredients

    For this easy shortcrust pastry recipe with chocolate, you'll need:

    • Flour - either all purpose flour or plain flour.
    • Cocoa powder - for a richer chocolate flavour, I recommend using Dutch-processed.
    • Brown sugar - a couple tablespoons of light brown sugar or light brown muscovado, firmly packed.
    • Salt
    • Coffee - for my recipe, I use instant coffee granules and water. This can be replaced by strong espresso or filtered coffee. The key is this needs to be cold for mixing your pastry dough.
    • Butter - unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled.
    Ingredients for easy chocolate shortcrust pastry recipe.

    Why use coffee with chocolate pastry?

    Coffee is frequently paired with chocolate as it accentuates the flavour of cocoa. This means that this easy chocolate tart shortcrust pastry will not taste of coffee, but instead it will taste more strongly of cocoa than it would without the coffee.

    That said, if you don't have access to coffee (either instant, filter or espresso) or do not want to include this for any reason, you can leave the coffee out entirely and just substitute with cold water.

    Making instant coffee with cool water as secret ingredient for pastry dough.

    Tips for Making Shortcrust Pastry with Chocolate

    So this is basically the same process as any other shortcrust recipe. You have your dry ingredients, chilled butter and cold liquid. The key differences are:

    • You're including cocoa powder with your flour.
    • The liquid I call for in my chocolate pie crust recipe is coffee.

    To start this recipe, you will want to ensure that your butter and coffee are well chilled. Depending on how long you've had these out while making preparations (such as chopping the butter into pieces or making the coffee), you may find it useful to place in the freezer for 15 minutes rather than just the refrigerator. This will give these a nice quick chill while you mix your dry ingredients.

    Once you've mixed together the dry ingredients in a bowl. Rub the chilled butter into the mixture. You're not wanting to work this too much at this stage - pockets of butter are what give shortcrust its characteristic short texture.

    Adding small pieces of chilled unsalted butter to dry ingredients.
    Rubbing butter into dry ingredients with hands but avoiding overworking and melted the butter down too much.

    Then add in the chilled liquid. Start by adding half of this - about 3 tablespoons and mix into the dough with your hands. Continue adding a little at a time until the dough comes together. You may not need all of the liquid.

    Adding chilled coffee to mixture slowly until the pastry comes together in a dough.
    Ball of cocoa pastry dough in mixing bowl before being wrapped in plastic wrap and chilled.

    Once the dough has come together, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for about 2 hours (or up to 3 days). When ready to use, roll out on a lightly floured surface, line your pie or tart dish.

    Baking Chocolate Shortcrust Pie Crust

    So now that you have your dough, the next steps will depend a bit on the specifics of the type of pie or tart you are making. The recipe below provides instructions to blind bake this pastry case with timings that are suitable for an 8" or 9" round baking tin.

    This dough is versatile and can be used for other sized bakes, such as tartlets (like these chocolate ganache tarts) or even smaller cupcake sized bakes, such as these mini pecan pies. The timings will vary for these.

    In some cases, you may not need to blind bake this crust - especially if your pie recipe will bake for at least 40 minutes once filled. If your recipe is for a no-bake filling or something that bakes for a short amount of time, you will be best to blind bake this crust.

    Blind Baking

    Once you've lined your tart case and gently pressed the crust into all edges and corners, chill this a second time. Shortcrust doughs do best thoroughly chilled. I would recommend chilling for at least 15 minutes once you've lined the case (which is usually perfect time for preheating the oven!).

    When ready to bake, line the inside of the chocolate pastry shell with aluminium foil and fill this with baking beans, rice or dry pasta to weight down. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and weights, returning to the oven to bake for a further 5 minutes to allow the case to cook through.

    Best Tips and Tricks

    • Use aluminium foil instead of parchment paper to line the inside of the pastry dough case. This makes it easier to press the lining into the case more smoothly than working with crinkled parchment paper. This can also be used to overhang the edges in case your oven runs hot and you are worried of the top edge catching.
    • Use baking beans, uncooked rice or dry pasta to weight down the lining, ensuring this covers the bottom into the edges.
    • No need to prick holes in the pastry. The aluminium and weights should keep this down smoothly.
    • If making a tart crust, allow the dough to overhang the baking case. Shortcrust often shrinks when baking and it will be easier to trim the rough edges after baking using a sharp knife than to recover a pastry case that has shrunk down while baking.
    Lining tart shell with aluminium foil and baking beans to blind bake.
    Baked chocolate pie crust.

    FAQs

    Can I make chocolate pie crust?

    Absolutely! This recipe will help you make an easy chocolate pie crust or chocolate tart shell. This chocolate pie crust made with cocoa powder and coffee produces a simple chocolatey shortcrust that works great for all sorts of pies and tarts.

    How long does shortcrust with chocolate keep?

    Once this dough is made, the cocoa pastry will keep in the refrigerator for up to three days prior to use.

    Alternatively, you can also easily freeze this pastry dough for up to three months. Simply place the wrapped chocolate shortcrust dough in a ziploc bag in the freezer. Allow to defrost in the refrigerator overnight before attempting to roll out.

    Do I have to use cocoa powder to make chocolate pastry?

    This recipe is for chocolate shortcrust pastry dough with cocoa powder. It may be possible to use other forms of chocolate in the making shortcrust, however, you cannot substitute melted chocolate or other chocolate chips in this particular recipe.

    Do I have to blind bake chocolate shortcrust?

    No, not in all cases. If you are substituting this chocolate pie crust into a recipe that does not call for a pre-baked pie shell, this can usually be left unbaked prior to filling and baking.

    To judge whether or not it should be blind-baked, take note of how long the pie is due to bake once filled. If it will bake in an 8" or 9" baking tin for 40 minutes or more, then you are most likely safe not to blind bake. If the filling is unbaked or bakes for a short amount of time, you will need to blind bake this crust first following the steps above.

    Need a crust? Try out these other recipes for quick and easy pie and tart bases:

    • Classic All Butter Pie Crust
    • Lotus Biscoff Biscuit Crust
    • Two Ingredient Oreo Base

    Or maybe some pie and tart inspiration:

    • Blood Orange Curd Tartlets
    • Peach Crisp Pie
    • Suspiro de limeña Tart
    • Chocolate Ganache Tartlets
    Close up of chocolate pastry lined tart case.

    Chocolate Shortcrust Pastry

    Liz Mincin
    An easy recipe for a chocolate shortcrust pastry. Perfect to act as a chocolate tart shell or chocolate pie crust.
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 40 mins
    Chilling 2 hrs 15 mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 1 9" pie crust
    Calories 1475 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 1¼ cup all purpose flour or plain flour
    • 2 tablespoon cocoa powder dutch processed
    • 2 tablespoon light brown sugar (muscovado) firmly packed
    • pinch salt
    • 1 tablespoon instant coffee see note
    • ⅓ cup cool water
    • ½ cup unsalted butter cut in small pieces and chilled

    Instructions
     

    • Begin by mixing the instant coffee with the cool water in a small bowl or jug. Stir until the coffee granules are dissolved then place the mixture in the refrigerator or freezer to cool while you continue preparing the dough.
    • In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar and salt.
    • Then add the pieces of chilled butter. Rub this together with your hands until the butter is distributed in the flour. See images in blog post for demonstration.
    • Slowly add your chilled coffee. Start by adding about half of this and mixing into the flour mixture. Continue to add a little bit at a time until the pastry dough comes together. You may not need all of the liquid.
    • Knead the dough a couple of times until this forms a ball. Then wrap this with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or until needed (up to three days).
    • After chilling, remove from the refrigerator and roll out on a floured work surface until about ⅛" thickness. Use to line your pie plate or tart pans.
    • Once your baking dish is lined with the dough, return to the refrigerator to chill for at least 15 minutes before baking.
    • If blind baking, place aluminium foil inside the crust and fill with baking beans or rice. Bake in a preheated 350°F (175C/155C Fan) oven for about 30 minutes, remove the foil lining and bake again for 5-10 minutes until the crust appears dry.

    Notes

    If you do not have instant coffee, you can either replace the water with chilled filter coffee or strong espresso. The stronger the coffee, the more it will help to heighten the chocolate flavour in the crust. Alternatively, you can leave the coffee out entirely and simply use water.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 1475kcalCarbohydrates: 142.9gProtein: 19.1gFat: 95gSaturated Fat: 59.4gCholesterol: 244mgSodium: 822mgPotassium: 494mgFiber: 7.4gSugar: 18.1gCalcium: 80mgIron: 9mg
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    Image of Liz Mincin blogger and recipe developer behind Waiting for Blancmange.

    Hi, I'm Liz! I'm an American expat in the UK, with over 20 years experience baking and creating desserts. Taught tricks and tips by my mother and grandmothers, I'm sharing recipes and baking tips from my Italian American and Southern roots, along with a few British staples picked up from my time living across various regions in the UK.

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