10 tips for making the perfect quiche

With the nip in the air there’s nothing nicer that tucking into a warm quiche and making your own is at a fraction of the cost of a bought one and yes it’s way easier than you think.

Great for breakfast, lunch or supper, follow our tips to create a perfect quiche:

1) The standard ratio for shortcrust pastry, no matter what the amount of flour , is  double the amount of flour to one part of fat so if you are using 250g flour, you would use 125g butter – and this amount is sufficient for 2 quiches.

2) I always use butter when making pastry but at a pinch you can use margarine but only brick margarine and NOT tub margarine as it won’t be successful.

3) Cold, quick and minimal handling is the secret to success with pastry. The fat used must be cold (straight from the fridge) and cut it into blocks. Use a metal bowl on a cold surface.

4) If you prefer a wholewheat pastry use half cake flour and half wholewheat flour. Wholewheat flour on its own will make a very dense and heavy pastry as it contains less gluten than cake flour.

5) Always remember to add a generous pinch of salt to the flour.

6) I always add a teaspoon or two  of castor sugar to shortcrust pastry irrespective of making a sweet or savoury quiche, as it gives the pastry a  lovely golden colour.

7) An easy way of making pastry is to use a food processor but take care not to over process. Once the fat/butter is incorporated into the flour, stop the machine.

8) Once the pastry is made roll out on a lightly floured surface and use to line a 23cm tart pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

9) To prevent soggy bottoms bake the pastry  blind before adding the filling. This is done by lining the pastry with greaseproof paper and fill it with dried beans, rice or other dried pulses  (this keeps the pastry from rising off the bottom of the pan) and bake in a preheated oven of 190 degrees C for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and remove the paper and beans and bake for a further 5 minutes. Cool slightly before adding the filling and returning to the oven. A good idea is to keep a jar of baking beans in the store cupboard for baking blind.

10) If you are pressed for time use a readymade roll of shortcrust pastry. Defrost in the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface and use to line a 23cm tart pan, trimming the edges. Bake blind as per above.

11) The filling  for a standard 23cm quiche is the following – 250 – 375ml ( 1 - 1½ cups) filling like a combination  or one of the  following  ingredients like  onions, mushrooms, peppers,  bacon tuna, baby marrows, pre-cooked butternut etc; 3 extra large eggs, 250ml (1 cup) grated cheese, 250ml (1cup) cream plus 125ml (½ cup) milk and salt and pepper.

12) Quiches freeze very well. I like to bake them ¾ of the way, cool completely, wrap well in plastic wrap and  freeze. Remove from the freezer  1 or 2  hours before required  and bake for 10-15 minutes at 180 degrees C.