Pâté sucrée is a sweet, crumbly French pastry that is used to make classic French dessert such as a fruit tart which often includes a layer of crème pâtissière or pastry cream. One of the tricks to making a perfect crust is chilling it twice—after you form the dough into a disc, and then again once the dough is in the tart pan. Allow two or more hours of chilling time for the dough.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Cakes, Culinary 3
Ingredients
3cups340 grams all-purpose flour
1/2cup100 grams granulated sugar
1teaspoonfine salt
1cup220 grams unsalted butter, cold, cut into bits
2large egg yolks
1 to 4tablespoonsice wateras needed
Instructions
In a bowl, blend together the flour, sugar, and salt.
Cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture resembles a coarse meal with bits of butter no larger than peas. (Alternatively, you can process the mixture on pulse mode in a food processor.)
Add the egg yolks and continue blending with the pastry cutter (or pulse in the processor) until the eggs are evenly incorporated and the mixture resembles a fine meal.
Stir in the ice water with a fork, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is just moistened enough to gather and mold into a smooth ball. (Or, with the food processor running, add the water 1 tablespoon at a time just until the mixture forms a dough.)
Divide the dough in half and flatten each portion into a smooth disc. Wrap with plastic and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight if you prefer.
Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and allow to rest at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes.
Remove the plastic wrap and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to fit in the tart pan. Lift and turn the dough as you work, keeping the work surface dusted with flour to prevent sticking.
Lay the dough in the tart pan and press it firmly against the sides and bottom without stretching it.
Trim off any excess dough.
Cover and chill the dough in the pan for at least 30 minutes before filling and baking.
To pre-bake the empty tart shell, prick the dough all over with a fork. Cover lightly with foil and bake at 375 F / 190 C for 15 minutes.
Remove the foil, and continue baking until barely colored for a partially baked shell or golden brown for a fully baked shell.