Description
Pâte Sucrée is a classic French sweet tart crust pastry dough that is crisp, buttery, and perfect for a wide variety of tart fillings. This recipe combines flour, icing sugar, almond meal, butter, and egg to create a rich, tender dough that’s easy to handle and bakes into a delicate golden crust. Ideal for both fully baked and partially baked tarts, it provides a deliciously sweet and slightly nutty base for fruit tarts, custard pies, and elegant desserts.
Ingredients
Scale
Tart Dough Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 6 1/2 tbsp soft icing sugar (powdered sugar), sifted
- 2 1/2 tbsp almond meal (ground almonds)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 100g (7 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 1cm cubes
- 1 large egg, at room temperature (55-60g / 2 oz)
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a bowl, whisk together the flour, icing sugar, salt, and almond meal until evenly combined.
- Add Butter: Use your fingertips to rub the softened butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, ensuring even distribution without overworking the dough.
- Add Egg: Incorporate the egg into the mixture using a rubber spatula until it becomes too stiff to stir, then use your hands to gently bring the dough together into a cohesive mass.
- Form Dough Ball: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead gently until smooth. Shape into a flattened disc about 2cm (0.8 inches) thick, wrap tightly in cling wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up.
- Roll Out Dough: Unwrap the chilled dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll it out evenly into a 32cm (13 inch) round, with a thickness of about 3mm (1/8 inch).
- Line Tart Tin: Lightly roll the dough onto your rolling pin so it wraps around it, then gently unroll it over a 24cm (9.5 inch) tart tin with a 3cm (1.2 inch) high edge. Press dough carefully into the corners without stretching to avoid shrinkage when baked.
- Trim Excess Dough: Roll the rolling pin over the edges of the tart tin to trim off any excess dough, ensuring a neat fit.
- Prick the Base: Lightly prick the base of the pastry about 30 times with a fork to prevent puffing during baking, without piercing all the way through.
- Chill Pastry in Tart Tin: Place the lined tart tin with dough back in the fridge for another 30 minutes to relax the gluten and prevent shrinking.
- Preheat Oven: Heat your oven to 200°C (390°F), or 180°C (fan).
- Blind Bake Preparation: Cover the pastry with two sheets of baking paper arranged in an ‘X’ shape and fill with baking beads, or alternatively 2 cups of dry raw rice or beans, to weigh down the crust during baking.
- Par-Bake Tart Shell: Bake the weighted tart shell for 15 minutes, then carefully remove the baking beads and parchment using the excess paper edges.
- Finish Par-Bake: Return the tart shell to the oven and bake uncovered for an additional 5 minutes until the surface is lightly golden and crisp but still slightly undercooked inside, ideal when the tart will be baked again with filling for more than 30 minutes.
- Full Bake Tart Shell (Optional): For tarts with raw fillings or fillings baked less than 25 minutes, after removing the baking beads, bake the shell uncovered for 10 more minutes to ensure a fully cooked and nicely colored crust.
- Cool Pastry: Remove the tart shell from the oven and let it cool inside the tart tin to maintain crispness before filling and, if needed, further baking with the filling.
- Make Ahead: The dough or pre-baked shell can be prepared up to 3 days ahead, keeping pastry fresh and ready for use with a variety of fillings.
Notes
- Note 1: Sifting icing sugar removes lumps and ensures a smooth dough texture.
- Note 2: Almond meal adds a subtle nutty flavor and tender crumb but can be omitted if nut allergies are a concern.
- Note 3: Using room temperature egg prevents the dough from becoming tough and helps in proper binding.
- Note 4: Rubbing butter into flour by hand ensures a flaky texture; avoid warming the butter too much.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Keywords: Pâte Sucrée, French tart crust, sweet pastry dough, tart shell, almond pastry, blind baking, dessert crust, classic French pastry
