Classic Tart Dough Recipe
Tart dough, known as pâte sucrée, is buttery, sweet, and crisp. In culinary school, I learned how to make pâte sucrée and fell in love with its texture and taste. Fruit tarts, in particular, are one of my favorite things to make using this dough.
This tart dough can also be used as cookie dough for cut-outs or sablés, jam-filled sandwich cookies topped with powdered sugar. Pate sucree is easy to make and comes together in about 5 minutes. It does require chill time, but that is necessary to keep the dough tender and crisp.
pro tips
- mise en place: weigh and prep all ingredients and supplies before starting. It makes the bake so much easier and less stressful.
- equipment varies: invest in an oven thermometer. Every oven is different and an oven thermometer will help you make sure you are baking at the correct temperature.
- room temperature dough: rolling the dough out after mixing is easier than rolling out cold dough. You can use two sheets of parchment paper or wrap the dough in plastic film, then roll the dough out to the thickness you want.
- chill the dough: cold dough is easier to manipulate into tart pans. It also helps to prevent shrinking during the bake. Once the dough is in the shells, chill or freeze before baking.
- docking: stamping the dough with a fork prevents air bubbles from forming during the bake.
- melted chocolate: brushing the bottom and sides of the tart shells with melted chocolate prevents the shell from getting soggy when wet fillings, like pastry cream or panna cotta, are used.
equipment and supplies
- stand mixer – this is the one I use
- bowls, various sizes
- digital scale
- rubber spatula
- plastic wrap
- rolling pin
- tart pans – these are what I use for 2-bite tarts
- docker or fork
- round cutter
- pie weights or beans, optional
recipe instructions for tart dough
Mise en place!
step one: Add the butter and powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. This particular paddle attachment has become my go-to. Beat the sugar and butter until light and creamy but do not add too much air. This will take approximately 5 minutes. Scrape the bowl.
step two: Beat the egg slightly and add to the butter mixture. Mix on speed one until a homogenous mixture has been created. It will look curdled at first, increase to speed two, and continue mixing until emulsified. Scrape the bowl.
step three: Add the flour and salt, then mix on speed one until the flour disappears. Refrain from overmixing as this will cause the dough to become tough. Don’t forget that rolling out the dough will also develop the gluten.
step four: Take the tart dough and wrap it in plastic wrap. I like to flatten the dough while it is still room temperature because it’s harder to roll out when it is cold. You can also roll out the tart dough between two sheets of parchment paper to the thickness you want. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes.
step five: Once chilled, remove the tart dough from the plastic wrap and place it on a flour-dusted surface. Lightly flour the dough’s top and roll out to 1/4 inch thickness. Move the dough, not your position, to roll it out in an even shape. This helps you check if the dough is sticking to the surface as well. Remember to use extra flour sparingly so the dough doesn’t toughen up.
step six: Using the round cutter, cut out circles. Your round cutter should be a little larger than the tart shell. Cut them close to one another to prevent scrap. Rolling out scraps will result in a tougher crust. If you are making a large tart, roll the dough gently around the rolling pin then unroll it over the top of the tart pan. For the cut-out circles, place them over the top of the tart pan, making sure it is even around the edges. Gently press the tart dough into the bottom corners of the pan then press the dough into the sides. Leave a little extra dough around the top of the tart pan to counteract shrinking during the bake. If you have a lot of extra dough around the top, trim it with a pair of clean scissors.
step seven: Take a fork and stamp the bottom of the tart dough. This is called docking and it prevents bubbles in the dough during the bake.
*if you happen to have a docker, like this one, use it after you roll out the dough and before you cut the circles.
step eight: Place your tart shells on a baking sheet then put them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. The colder the tart dough, the less of a chance for shrinking. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
step nine: Bake the tart shells for approximately 20 minutes. Turn the baking sheet halfway through to get an even bake. You’re looking for a nice golden brown. The ones in these pictures could have baked for another 3 minutes, the bottoms were slightly chewy, not quite as crisp as I prefer.
step ten: Remove the shells from the oven and allow to cool. Once cool, gently remove from the shells from the tart pans. You can now fill them with your favorite filling. If you are using a pastry cream, panna cotta, or chiffon filling, brush the bottom and sides of the shells with melted chocolate.
Tart Dough
Equipment
- 1 Stand mixer
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 9 tartlet pans or 1 large tart pan
Ingredients
- 108 g butter softened
- 66 g powdered sugar
- 1 g salt
- 1 g lemon zest optional
- 2 drops vanilla extract
- 50 g eggs beaten
- 200 g pastry flour or ap flour
Instructions
- Cream the butter, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla until pale and smooth.
- Add the egg a little at a time and beat well.
- Add the flour and salt. Mix on low speed just until the flour disappears.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and flatten out. Chill until firm before use.
storage tips for tart dough
Empty, baked tart shells can be kept in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to one week. You can also freeze them for up to 2 months for the best quality and flavor.
Filled tart shells should be kept in the refrigerator for up to one week. You will start to see the filling separate from the shell after a few days, they are still edible but not very pretty.
variations
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