Step 1

Make the dough: Firstly, cut the butter into 1-inch/2 cm cubes. Place it on a plate and keep refrigerated until it's time to use it.

Step 2

Place the four and the cold-fridge butter in a food processor and process until the mixture resembles "sand". It takes less than 10 seconds.

Step 3

Add the powdered sugar and repeat for a few seconds.

Step 4

Add the egg, the vanilla extract or the lemon zest, and pulse just to bring the dough together. It takes a few seconds, make sure you don't overprocess.

Step 5

Wrap the sweet shortcrust pastry with cling film and refrigerate for 2 hours. After the chilling time, take the dough out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter to soften slightly, after a few minutes the shortcrust pastry is ready for your favorite recipe.

Step 6

Rolling out: Sprinkle work surface and dough with flour, dust the rolling pin too. If you use the dough to make a pie or a tart, roll out into round that's 27cm/10" large or large enough for your pan. Gently roll the pastry so it wraps around the rolling pin and unroll it over the cake pan. With a sharp knife, trim the edges of the pastry to fit the tart pan and place in the freezer until firm, about 20 minutes. After this second chilling time, you can use the sweet pastry dough in your favorite recipe.