All-Purpose shortcrust pastry | Pâte Sablée
A rich, buttery French shortcrust pastry with a delicate, crumbly texture and crisp bite. Slightly sweet and tender, it’s perfect for fruit tarts, chocolate fillings, elegant dessert bases, and cookies.
Servings 9 " tart
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 Cup All-purpose bleached flour (200g)
- 1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar (50g)
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1/8 teapspoon Baking powder
- 1/2 Cup Unsalted butter, cold cut into 1-inch pieces (113g)
- 1 Large Egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a food processor.
- Add the cold butter and pulse until the butter is the size of peas.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and process until you have a moist crumbly dough.
- Dump the dough over a large piece of plastic wrap and use the edges to press the dough and shape it into a disk.
- Tightly wrap the disk and refrigerate for a minimum of 90 minutes.
- Roll the chilled dough between two pieces of parchment paper into a 9.5-inch circle. Remove the top piece and lift the dough using the bottom piece of parchment paper.
- Gently place the dough over an 8 or 9-inch tart pan and use your fingers to press the dough into the mold.
- Place the pan with the dough back in the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes or up to overnight.
- Preheat oven to 375F (190C), and line a baking sheet over the low oven rack.
- Remove the parchment paper from the chilled dough, use a fork to prick the dough then a sharp knife to cut any access dough.
- Line a piece of parchment paper over the dough and fill it with pie weights or dry beans.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 30 minutes before removing the weights.
Notes
- Remember to use cold ingredients, especially butter. Cold butter is key to getting that tender texture in your pastry. I usually place the dry ingredients in the freezer for about 30 minutes as well.
- Use have any leftover raw dough, use it to patch up any cracks before baking.
- In case the crust breaks while it's baking, you can fix it up with some melted white chocolate. Just let it cool and set before filling.
- Remember not to remove the pie weight right away after baking. Give the shell about 30 minutes to cool down. This will help from shrinking.
- Make sure to chill the dough properly. When it's nice and cold, the butter firms up, making it easier to work with and keeping it from shrinking during baking. If you have the time, pop the dough in the freezer for around 30 minutes or even longer before baking.