Cornish Pasty – The Great British Bake Off Technical Challenge Recipe

This is the short version of the Cornish Pasty recipe that the bakers had to follow in the fifth episode of the Season 1 of the Great British Bake Off. It wasn’t directly mentioned whose recipe was used – however, Cornish Pasties are Paul’s speciality, so the full recipe can be found here, should you want to practice. Also, if you want to check out my attempt at making them (although I did it without the time restrictions) then check here!

Some More Insights to the Challenge

The expectation today is to make 4 Cornish Pasties. The total time for the challenge is 1,5 hours.

This time there was not much discussion about what kind of instructions the bakers had and what kind they didn’t. We see some glimpses of their instruction sheets but nothing legible. So the instructions in the recipe are fully my own interpretation based on what the narrator warned about and what the bakers were afraid to do incorrectly.

P.S. I haven’t added any pictures of the expected result for these challenge posts on purpose. It will be a lot more fun if someone finds the challenge and doesn’t know what the end result has to look like! For the list of all Technical Challenge recipes I’ve added so far, go see this post here.

If you decide to do this challenge – good luck! Don’t forget to share some pictures of your end result with me afterward!

Preparation

You’ll need:

• A bowl for the dough
• Cling film
• Cutting board, knife and bowls to cut and store the onions, the potato, and beef
• A (stand) mixer for pastry

Before starting…

1. Set the timer to 1,5 hours.

On your marks, get set… BAKE!

CORNISH PASTY – THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF TECHNICAL CHALLENGE RECIPE

Yield: 4

Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

This is the short version of the recipe that the bakers had to follow in the 5th episode's Technical Challenge in the Season 1 of the Great British Bake Off. 

Print

Ingredients

For the pastry

• 450 g plain flour
• salt
• 115 g cold lard, diced
• 75 g cold unsalted butter, diced
• about 90 ml ice-cold water
• 1 egg, lightly beaten, to glaze

For the filling

• 1 large onion
• 120 g swede
• 1 large floury potato, such as King Edward or Maris Piper
• 400 g beef skirt
• 50 g butter
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. To make the pastry, mix the flour and salt in a large bowl, add the lard and butter and rub in with your fingertips.
2. Stir in some water, then knead briefly.
3. Shape into a ball, wrap in cling film, and chill.
4. For the filling, heat the oven to 200°C.
5. Slice the onion; cut the swede and potato, keep them separate from onions.
6. Cut the beef and divide it into 4 portions.
7. Divide the pastry into 4 equal pieces and roll each out on a lightly floured surface. Cut out a 24cm circle, using a plate as a guide.
8. Scatter a layer of swede on the pastry, add a layer of potato, season to taste, and top with some onion. Repeat the swede and potato layers, seasoning as you go. Add the beef. Add a final layer of onion, season, and dot with butter.
9. Press together firmly and then crimp the edges together by pinching all the way around; brush the pastry with beaten egg.
10. Bake for 20 minutes, then lower the oven setting to 160°C and bake for 30 minutes longer.

Did you try this recipe?

Share your experience down in the comments or let me know on Instagram!