Pâte Sucrée (French Shortcrust Pastry - Sweet)

There is something ethereal about a perfectly baked tart that conjures images of the quintessential Parisian Pâtisserie. With a high ratio of fat, both from butter and egg yolks, this is a pâte sucrée (sweet dough) as it has a significant amount of sugar added to the dough. Páte sucrée is excellent for tarts, both mini and full-size and makes a nice pie dough. It is more crumbly than flaky - very, very short - and so is ideal for small bites like mincemeat tarts. If you don't love the flakiness of a classic all-butter pastry, then a sweet shortcrust might be a good alternative for you. This dough is very well suited to cream pies, chocolate ganache pies, and fruit curd tarts.

1½ cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
6½ Tbsp. confectioners' sugar, sifted
2½ Tbsp. almond meal (ground almonds)
¼ tsp. kosher salt
7 Tbsp. butter, unsalted, softened, cut into 1 cm cubes (100 g)
1 large egg, at room temperature (55-60 g/2 oz)

Mix the Dry Ingredients:
Whisk together flour, icing sugar, salt and almond meal in a bowl.

Add the Butter:
Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Add the Egg:
Mix with a rubber spatula until it becomes too hard to stir anymore, then use your hands to bring it together into a dough.

Bring Dough Together:
Turn dough out onto a work surface, then knead to bring together into a smooth ball. Flatten into a 2 cm/0.8" thick disc. Wrap with cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Rolling Out:
Unwrap chilled dough. Place on a lightly floured work surface.

Roll out into a 32 cm/13" round (3 mm/1/8" thick).

Line Tart Tin:
Roll pastry lightly on to a rolling pin (ie. so it wraps around itself). Then unroll it gently over the tart tin.

Fit Pastry:
Adjust the pastry to fit into the tart tin, fitting into the corner, taking care not to stretch it (causes shrinkage during bake).

Trim Excess Dough:
Roll the rolling pin over tart tin to trim excess dough. Pictured tart tin is 24x3 cm/9.5x1.2" - you can use any up to this size.

Chill pastry in tart tin for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C/180°C fan, Gas Mark 6).

Blind Baking:
Cover pastry with 2 sheets of baking paper (parchment paper), in a "X" arrangement. Fill with baking beads (or 2 cups dry raw rice or beans).

Par Baked Tart Crust:
Baking times for a Par Baked Tart to be used for tarts that are baked for > 30 minutes once the filling is added into the cooked tart shell.

Bake 15 minutes then remove from oven. Use excess paper to remove baking beads.

Bake uncovered 5 minutes: Return tart crust to oven for 5 minutes. Pastry should be light golden, crispy on surface, but slightly undercooked inside (will finish cooking once filled and baked again).

Fully Cooked Tart Crust:
Use these baking times if the tart shell is to be used for raw fillings (ie tart not baked once crust is filled) OR fillings that are baked for < 25 minutes.

Bake 15 minutes the remove from oven. Use excess paper to remove baking beads.

Bake uncovered 10 minutes: This will fully cook the pastry through and give it nice colour which we need as the pastry won't cook through in less than 25 minutes once filled.

Remove then cool in tart tin before filling (this ensures crust stays crispy once filled), then baking again if filling needs to be cooked.

Make-Ahead up to 3 days, suitable for baking once filled.

Cook's Notes:

• "Almond meal" is called "ground almonds" in some countries. Not to be confused with "almond flour" which is more finely ground and uses blanched almonds instead of almonds with their skins on.
• Eggs - sold standardized as "large eggs" (labelled on carton). They are 55-60 g/2 oz each. Ensure they are at room temperature so they incorporate into the mixture properly (cold eggs into creamed butter = butter can solidify = not good).
• Rubbing Butter In: Alternatively you could pulse in a food processor, but I find it therapeutic using hands and also it really doesn't take that long, ~2 minutes.
• Storage: Keeps 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge (for very warm weather) or pantry (if mild weather).
• Dough can also be made and left in the fridge overnight. Leave out on counter for 20-30 minutes (or longer if required) to soften slightly so you can roll it out easily.
• Suitable for use with fillings that require baking once filled (eg: Pistachio Pear Tart) or raw fillings (ie: fill then serve without baking). If using for raw fillings, increase covered bake time from 15-20 minutes, and uncovered bake time from 5-10 minutes.