Pâte sucrée (sweet pastry crust)

This is the basic sweet crust recipe, perfect for any dessert tart or pie.

Recipe adapted from Secrets Gourmands by Pierre Hermé and The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook by Martha Stewart.

Makes 12 (twelve) 2-inch tartlets or 1 (one) 10-inch tart

Ingredients:

1¼ c. all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

2 T. sugar

Pinch sea salt (1/8 t.)

½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut in pieces

1 large egg yolk, beaten

1-2 T. ice water, as needed

Egg wash: 1 whole egg & 1 t. water

Equipment needed:
Parchment paper or aluminum foil
2-inch tartlet molds or a 10-inch tart pan
Dried beans, to weight tart crust (may be reused)

1. Place flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor, and process for a few seconds to combine. Add egg yolk, processing a few seconds more. Add the butter pieces to the flour mixture, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. (If dough starts to come together into a ball, you will not need any water.) Add the ice water in a slow, steady stream, through the feed tube while pulsing, just until the dough holds together. Do not process more than 30 seconds or allow machine to run continuously, or dough will become tough. (If mixing dough manually, whisk flour, sugar and salt together; then whisk in egg yolk. Cut butter into flour with pastry cutter or fork until butter pieces are pea-size or smaller. Add just enough ice water to make pastry hold together.)

2. Arrange the tartlet molds in a rectangle of 3 molds across by 4 molds down, touching on all sides. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, and roll out into a rectangle until the dough extends the rectangle by one ½- inch all around, dusting with flour to avoid sticking. (Do not add more flour than necessary). Fold dough in half and in half again in order to lift it without tearing. Place atop the tart molds and loosely shape dough to each mold. Roll a rolling pin across the tops of the molds, cutting the excess pastry from the sides.

3. Prick the bottom of each crust with a fork to allow steam to escape. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes, or place in freezer 10-15 minutes. This allows the butter to solidify and create a flakier crust. (When placed in a pre-heated oven, the solidified chilled butter holds a “space” as the pastry sets, creating a lighter pastry than would room temperature butter.)

4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the pastry crusts with parchment paper, and pour the dried beans onto the paper to weight the pastry and prevent shrinking. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove parchment paper and beans; and bake an additional 2 minutes, until cooked and slightly puffed, but not colored. Remove from oven, and glaze with egg wash, then bake again 2 minutes. Set aside until ready to add filling.