If anyone sees her on the board, can you send her here?
According to ggg, this type of pastry is the best for mince pies. And frankly, you'll have worked off enough calories to eat the entire batch once you've finished making it:
Mascarpone pastry with thanks to Gordon Ramsay
Makes about 1.4 kg
Buttery mixture
200g mascarpone
250g butter, softened
50g strong plain flour
Floury dough
500g strong plain flour
1 tsp fine sea salt
50g butter, melted and cool
400ml water
- For the buttery mixture, beat mascarpone with softened butter and flour. Shape into a small square and wrap in cling film.
- To make floury dough, sift flour and salt together into a bowl, add the runny butter and water then mix to a firm dough. Knead firmly for 5 mins or so, until smooth and elastic. Shape into a square about 2cm thick, and wrap in cling film. Chill both doughs for 6 hours.
- Unwrap both the buttery slab and the floury dough. Score a deep cross on the top of the floury dough in the centre, cutting about halfway through the depth. Pull back the 4 points of dough at the centre of the cross, and position the slab of butter in the centre at an angle
- Fold the pointed ends of the dough back into the centre over the butter to enclose it.
- Roll the 2 doughs together lightly but firmly on a lightly floured board until 2-3 times the length and about 1.5 cm thick. Keep edges straight and make sure none of the butter breaks through. Fold the dough in 3, bringing the top third down to the centre then folding the bottom third on top. Wrap in cling film and rest in the fridge for 20-30 mins until firm.
- Give the dough a quarter turn so that the fold is either on the right or left. Roll out and fold again, then quarter turn so that the fold is on the same side as before.
- Roll out the pastry a 3rd time to the same length as before. Fold as before (top to centre then bottom over). Foiled this in half again, like a wallet, to make a double fold. Wrap and chill until firm.
- Roll out and fold again, making sure the fold is on the same side as before. All stages are necessary if layers of fat are to be evenly distributed through the flour and the pastry is to rise evenly.
- Roll out for a final time, and fold again (top to centre then bottom over). Wrap and chill. Cut the dough into 4 portions (or quantities required) and freeze those you don?t need straight away.