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Pâte sucrée
Sweet tart pastry
Pâte sucrée: sweet, crumbly French tart pastry for fruit and lemon tarts
Pâte sucrée is the sweet pastry of French pâtisseries, the crisp, biscuit-like case under every lemon tart, strawberry tart and chocolate tart in the bakery windows from Paris to Marseille. Butter is creamed with icing sugar and egg, then flour and ground almonds are mixed in just until the dough comes together, giving a short, tender crust that holds its shape. The common mistake is working the dough too much, which makes it tough and shrink in the oven. Chef's tip: roll the pastry between two sheets of baking paper straight from mixing, then chill it flat; it is much easier to handle and never cracks.
- Total time
- 110 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
- 4 ½ oz unsalted buttersoft
- 2 ⅞ oz icing sugar
- 1 oz ground almonds
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 eggat room temperature
- 8 oz plain flour
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Beat the 4 ½ oz unsalted butter with the 2 ⅞ oz icing sugar, 1 oz ground almonds and 1 pinch salt until smooth and creamy.
3 minStep 2: Beat in the 1 egg and ½ tsp vanilla extract until combined.
2 minStep 3: Add the 8 oz plain flour and mix with a spatula just until the dough comes together; stop as soon as there is no dry flour.
2 minStep 4: Roll between two sheets of baking paper to 3 mm thick and chill flat for at least 1 hour.
60 minStep 5: Line a 24 cm tart tin, trim and prick the base. Chill 15 minutes while the oven heats to 350°F (300°F fan).
5 minStep 6: To blind-bake, cover with paper and baking beans and bake for 15 minutes, then remove them and bake 5–8 minutes more, until evenly pale golden and dry.
20 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 280 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
- Fat
- 16 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pâte sucrée take?
- About 110 minutes in total: 90 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of unsalted butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of icing sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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