Ballarat Cornish Pasty
Golden, flaky shortcrust pastry hand-crimped around a juicy filling of diced beef, potato, swede, and onion with cracked pepper.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Total
- 90 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 680 kcal
Equipment
- •Large mixing bowl
- •Rolling pin
- •Baking tray
- •Baking paper
- •Pastry brush
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 680 kcal
- fat
- 38 g
- carbs
- 56 g
- fibre
- 4 g
- protein
- 28 g
- calories
- 680 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Rub the cold butter and lard into the plain flour and half teaspoon of salt until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs.
- 2
Add iced water gradually and mix with a butter knife until the dough gathers into a firm ball.
- 3
Wrap the pastry in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
- 4
Mix the diced beef, raw potato, swede, onion, remaining salt, and cracked black pepper together in a large bowl.
- 5
Preheat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced) and line a flat baking tray with baking paper.
- 6
Divide the chilled pastry into four equal balls and roll each out into a 20 cm round disc.
- 7
Heap a quarter of the raw filling across one half of each pastry disc.
- 8
Brush the pastry edge with water, fold the dough over the filling, and press edges firmly together.
- 9
Crimp the edge tightly using your thumb and forefinger to seal securely into a classic rope pattern.
- 10
Place onto the baking tray, prick a small steam hole in each top, and brush evenly with beaten egg.
- 11
Bake for 20 minutes, reduce oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced), and bake for another 30 minutes until deep golden.
Chef's tips
Always use raw filling ingredients so they cook gently inside the pastry envelope, releasing juices that create their own rich gravy. Dice the root vegetables to a uniform small size so they soften at the same rate as the beef.
Ingredient substitutions
- cold lard → cold unsalted butter or vegetable shortening
- beef skirt steak → beef chuck steak, trimmed and finely hand-diced
- swede → turnip or extra potato
Storage
Store cooled pasties in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheating
Reheat on a baking tray in an oven preheated to 180°C for 15 to 20 minutes until piping hot throughout.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Pre-cooking the filling ingredients, which causes the meat to dry out during baking.
- •Rolling the pastry too thinly, which risks tearing when wrapping the raw filling.
- •Forgetting to cut a steam vent, causing juices to burst through the crimped seams.
Serving suggestions
Cooked Ballarat Cornish Pasty?
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