Pâte Sablée (Sweet Tart Dough) is another repertoire recipe that’s a good one to know. It’s different from regular Pastry Dough due to the higher amount of sugar in the dough, as well as the egg. It’s a more forgiving dough to work with, because of the binding properties in egg, which is a nice quality in a dough, and therefore, a great dough for beginning bakers. Another property is that it doesn’t stay as flaky; it’s more of a tart dough, and is more like a cookie shell in texture, which works really well with fruit tarts and sweet custards, etc. I wouldn’t use Pâte Sablée (Sweet Tart Dough) in place of Pastry Dough for everything, but it’s a great one to know in the summer when fruit abounds. I also learned a great trick from the Tartine cookbook. When you are planning on blind baking these empty and filling them later with custards or fruits, etc., you can brush the inside of the dough with egg white before you bake it. This will “seal” the shell, so to speak, which will slow down the process of the shell getting soggy and soft. All in all, this versatile Pâte Sablée (Sweet Tart Dough) is a great one to know how to make.
- 9 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter
- ½ cup sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 room temperature egg
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- In a mixer, combine butter, sugar, and salt and mix on medium speed until smooth.
- Mix in egg until smooth.
- Scrape down the bowl.
- Add the flour all at once and mix on low until incorporated.
- On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough into 2 equal balls and shape each ball into a disk ½- inch thick.
- Wrap well in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.*
- On a lightly floured surface roll out one of the tart disks ⅛- inch thick.
- Place dough into tart pan and trim the dough level with the top of the pan.
- Place in the refrigerator or freezer until it is firm, about 15 minutes.
- FOR AN EMPTY TART SHELL: (for lemon cream tarts or filling with fruit or pastry cream etc.)
- Preheat the oven to 325° F.
- Dock (make small holes in) the bottom of the tart shell with a fork or the tip of a knife, making tiny holes 2 inches apart.
- Place in the oven and bake for 7 to 10 minutes for a partially baked large shell. The pastry should be lightly colored and look dry and opaque.
- Check the shell(s) during baking and rotate the pans if necessary for even color. For a fully baked shell, proceed as directed for a partially baked shell, but bake until golden brown, about 5 minutes longer.
- Let cool completely on wire racks. The pastry shells will keep, well-wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
- IF BAKING WITH A FILLING, see recipe for dying fruit tart.
- *They will keep in the freezer for quite a while, so this is something I keep on hand.
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