Shortcrust pastry baskets: for a super delicious appetizer ready in no-time

If you’re a fan of quiche, you will love these shortcrust pastry baskets. They’re easy to make, and can be customized according to your liking. To make it, you will need shortcrust pastry (make your own or buy a readymade packet from the store), eggs and ricotta (for the egg custard), and filling ingredients. For the filling, you can use any you like, but make sure to check out our tips below for the best results.

The pastry is cut into circles that fit a muffin tray—this acts as a ‘basket’ to hold the filling ingredients. It’s then topped with the egg custard and filling. Once baked until golden and cooked through, the pastry baskets are ready to be enjoyed!

Tips

The pastry baskets are made with shortcrust pastry, but you can also use Bisquick. Alternatively, you can use puff pastry (storebought or homemade).

To make your own shortcrust pastry from scratch, you can use a food processor to blend: 1 ¼ cup flour, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp sugar, ¼ cup vegetable shortening (or lard), ¼ cup cold butter (cubed), and ¼ cup ice-cold water.

You can make the quiche ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator or freezer. When you’re ready to serve it, warm it up in the oven.

To make the filling vegan, blend 14 oz firm tofu, 1 tbsp corn starch, and 1 tbsp nutritional yeast in a blender and use as the “egg” filling. Leave out the cheese, or use a vegan variety.

If you want to add meat for meat lovers, you can add any of the following: chopped hot dogs, smoked chicken breast, cooked bacon, ham, or smoked salmon.

Not a fan of cheddar? You can also use feta cheese, goat’s cheese, Swiss cheese, or gruyere.

This recipe is perfect for vegetarians and is a great way to use leftover vegetables. Try any of the following chopped vegetables: wilted spinach, steamed broccoli, roasted red peppers, sweetcorn, cubed carrots, caramelized onion, etc.

To prevent a soggy-bottomed quiche, make sure that all your ingredients are as dry as possible. Vegetables that release a lot of moisture (like spinach or mushrooms) must be cooked beforehand and squeezed to remove the moisture.

How to Store Short Crust Pastry Basket

The pastry baskets are best served fresh out of the oven while warm, but leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Just make sure to store it in an airtight container.

How To Make Puff Pastry Baskets

Cut pastry into muffin tray-sized circles.

Place the pastry rounds into the holes of a greased muffin tray.

Use a fork to pierce the bottom of the pastries. Set the pastries aside while you prepare the filling.

Mix the ricotta cheese, yogurt, eggs, and sunflower oil in a bowl until smooth. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano.

Pour the mixture into each muffin hole lined with pastry.

Add the fillings (according to your liking) to the custard mixture.

For this recipe, we used a combination of ham and cheese, plain cheese, corn, bell peppers, and cherry tomatoes.

Bake for 25 minutes at 180°C/356°F until the egg custard is cooked through, but not rubbery.

Use a spoon to carefully remove the pastry baskets from the muffin tin. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!