Have you ever been walking through a pastry shop and for sale is this gorgeous tart with ridges up the side that looks not quite like your average pie? It’s a delicate flaky crust that’s not that hard to make! Here’s how you make this wonderful Pâte Sucrée pastry shell!
Ingredients:
DRY:
10 oz (c. 2 cups not leveled/not heaping) All Purpose Flour
1 oz (c. 1/4 cup) Confectioner's sugar
8 oz Butter (2 sticks-- cold and cubed)
WET:
1 large egg yolk
2 T COLD water
Other Stuff:
11 inch removable bottom tart pan
rolling pin
large bowl
cling film
baking beans/rice
In a Large bowl, sift and whisk together the flour and confectioner’s sugar
Rub butter into the dry mixture with fingers until the mixture looks like wet sand.
Beat the egg yolk and water together until all “lumps” of yolk are broken, then make a well in the center of the dry mixture and add wet mixture. Incorporate quickly just until it sticks together.
Flatten dough into a disk or a ball, wrap with cling film and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes, up to 2 hours.
If dough has chilled longer than than 45 minutes, it will need to sit at room temp for about 3-4 minutes before rolling. Liberally dust a surface with flour and dust your rolling pin as much as possible. Remove disk from fridge and then "wake up the dough.” For the traditional tart, it needs to remain 1/8-1/4 inch thick then rolling back on the pin lift the dough and place over the 11" tart pan then pressing into the form. Chill for at least 10 minutes in the refrigerator.
During this final chill is when I like to preheat my oven to 375Deg F.
Just before baking, place a two pieces of cling film in the bottom and into the corners edges of the tart shell as much as possible. Make sure to gather all of the cling film to the center over the baking beans (as to not tough any metal) and "blind" bake for 20 minutes, remove your film filled with beads and bake to brown the bottom (about 5 more minutes).
Let cool 15 minutes in pan on a wire wrack before removing. Let cool completely before filling with beautiful pastry cream or whipped cream and fruit.
