SWEET TART CRUST

Sweet Tart Crust, also known as Short Crust Dough or Pate Brisee is a little different from pie crust. Whereas the former is known for its buttery and flaky texture, tart crust is considered perfect if it's crispy and crumbly, like a cookie. Usually two parts flour and one part fat, it contains egg and often a little bit of heavy cream. Conversely, the pie crust just contains flour and butter or shortening.

The History

There are various accounts of how the Tart evolved. One version claims that it was the creation of famous Chefs who worked for the nobility in Europe. Both sweet and savory varieties were presented at feasts and lavish dinners, displaying the creative talents of the Chefs. Another story claims that two unmarried sisters who ran the Hotel Tatin created the first ever tart. This famous tart was known as "Tart des Demoiselles Tatin". This later gained worldwide fame when the Parisian restaurant Maxim added it to their menu.

Versatile Desserts

I honestly am just happy that someone created it! Much easier to make than a pie crust, it truly gives way to tons of creativity in the way that it can be filled and decorated. From custard, to fruit, to chocolate, the possibilities are limitless. Some of the finest displays I've ever seen in bakeries, cooking shows and competitions are tarts.

The Sweet Tart Crust Demystified

In this post I'll walk you through the basic steps of making a perfect tart crust and let you find creative and delightful ways to fill it. The key thing here and in the pie crust, as I've mentioned in that post already, is to adhere strictly to the measurements of the ingredients and pay close attention to the technique of preparing the dough.

The following pictures will hopefully help and the notes at the end of the recipe card contain lots of tips and pointers to help you perfect the recipe.

As always if something is not clear please feel free to ask me in the comments below! Last of all don't forget to rate this recipe if you try it!

SWEET TART CRUST

Nosheen Babar

Buttery, sweet and crumbly describes this Sweet Tart Crust perfectly! it's the perfect base for any dessert filling of your choice!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

blind bake 15 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, British, Pakistani

Servings 8 people

Calories 199 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1½ cups flour
• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter
• ▢ 1 egg yolk
• ▢ 2 tsps heavy whipping cream
• ▢ ? cups powdered sugar
• ▢ ¼ tsp salt
• ▢ ½ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

 

• Mix together the Flour, Powdered Sugar and Salt.
• Slice the chilled butter and add it to the flour mixture using a pastry cutter. Blend till you have a crumbly mixture.
• Add the chilled cream and beaten egg yolk and continue to blend with the pastry cutter till a wet dough starts to form.
• Pat the dough into a disc shape, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for an hour.
• Remove the dough and let it sit on the counter for 5-10 minuets so you can easily roll it out on a lightly floured surface.
• Gently transfer the dough to your tart tin and cut off excess dough with a knife.
• Bake as per instructions based on the filling you plan to use.

Notes

1.Be precise in your measurements. If your flour to fat ratio is off your tart texture will not be as it needs to be.

2. I prefer to use a pastry cutter as the food processor can be hit or miss. One or two extra pulses and your dough tends to get overworked. Pastry Cutters are very affordable and don't take up too much room so it's an easy kitchen tool to acquire and I would highly recommend it. Mixing it this way usually leads to a crisper crust.

3. In the event that your dough isn't quite coming together and is too crumbly, add just 1 teaspoon of very chilled water and that should help you bind your mixture and shape it into a disc. Be very careful though as too much water and flour when you're rolling it out can make the crust too tough.

4. Glass or dark metal tins work best for baking in as they have better heat absorption and the crust runs less risk of being soggy. Similarly, baking on the bottom rack of the oven and cooling properly on a wire rack also help insure that your crust isn't soggy. 5.The ideal thickness of the rolled out dough is ⅛ inches thick.

6.If your dough cracks when you transfer it to your tin, dip a finger in some chilled water and seal the cracks so your filling doesn't slip through.

7. The dough can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for upto 1 month either in it's raw form or parbaked (375 degrees for 15 minutes with weights).

8. It's best to use confectioners sugar which is 3 % cornstarch and helps keep your crust light and crisp. Granulated Sugar tends to make the dough a little difficult to handle and the crust a little crumbly.

9. For the fat, a combination of butter and either an entire egg or part egg yolk and heavy cream can be used. I like mine part yolk and part cream as it adds a nice flavor to the crust but if you find it tedious to have so many ingredients to gather then 1 whole egg will work in this recipe.

10. If you've ever eaten any type of shortbread cookies that's the texture you're aiming for here. A cool hack for making your own shortbread cookies is to use this recipe and use a round cookie cutter to cut out your shapes. These can be baked and eaten plain, dipped in chocolate or sandwiched together with a jam or cream filling. Bake the cookies at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

11. if you want to make mini tarts and use different fillings for variety this recipe should yield four.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 199kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 3gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 57mgSodium: 76mgPotassium: 32mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 405IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 11mgIron: 1mg

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