Can I Replace The Vegetable Shortening in The Treacle Slice With Another Fat?

Our answer

Nigella's Treacle Slice (from KITCHEN) is a traybake version of treacle tart and has an easy press-in crust that does not require any rolling. It gives a crisp but melting pastry base for the sweet golden filling.

Vegetable shortening used in combination with butter helps to keep the pastry "short" and crisp. Usually even firmer fats should blend well in the food processor and we would suggest cutting it into smaller cubes before putting it into the bowl of the processor as this will help the pastry dough ingredients to blend more easily. Also, you don't need to process until the fat completely diasppears, the mixture should be crumbly with small pieces of fat interspersed. However, you can use lard as an alternative, as it is one of the traditional fats for making shortcrust pastry, but bear in mind that the pastry will not then be suitable for vegetarians. You can also replace the vegetable shortening with the same weight of butter, if necessary.