A perfect tart crust is a foundation for great desserts. You don't have to be a pastry chef (I'm definitely not) to make a beautiful and tasty one.
Tarts are my most requested dessert. If you learn to make those, you'll always have something amazing to bring to a dinner party or just have something fantastically delicious to eat with your family. (I just had a lemon curd tartlet with my coffee this morning and it was perfect.)
You'll also save some money too because the bakery ones can get expensive!
And honestly, homemade is better because you can fill and top it with whatever you like. My family loves them so much that we use them in place of birthday cakes all the time. (I guess that's how I learned to make them 😀)
Ingredients
1/2 cup (113g/4 oz) unsalted butter, cold from the fridge, cut into TB chunks
3.5 tsp (15g/0.6 oz) one egg yolk, from a large egg
2 tablespoons (30g/1 oz) whole milk
*For beginners, I recommend all-purpose flour. It has a higher protein content, which will make the dough much easier to handle when raw. If you're into the super crumbly texture, and can find it, by all means, pastry flour is excellent. I've used Bob's Red Mill Pastry Flour with great success.
**If you need smaller sized tarts, this recipe will make seven 4" tartlets, or about 25 hors d'oeuvres sized mini tartlets.
Instructions
1. To a stand mixer, add the butter, powdered sugar, and salt. Mix on medium-low speed until smooth and completely combined. Scrape down the sides.
2. Add the flour and turn the mixer on low. Mix until the butter is evenly incorporated into flour and feels like damp sand. This should take a minute or two.
3. Use a fork to mix the egg yolk and milk in a small bowl. Pour it into the mixer, and mix on low. Don't overmix at this point; you will form gluten strands in the dough, which will yield a tough tart crust when baked.
4. Feel the dough with your hands. It is done mixing when it feels very damp, contains no visible flour, and easily formed into a ball.
5. Place the dough onto some plastic wrap, and form it into a ball, and then flatten into a disc. Wrap it tightly and let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour.
6. When you are ready to bake, place rack in the lower third of your oven and preheat to 400 °F for large tarts (9"/10") or 375 °F for 4" tartlets and smaller tartlets. Roll out your dough by flouring the work surface or lining with plastic wrap until it is about 1/8-1/4" thick.
7. (If using tartlet pans, cut the dough into circles first using the tartlet pans as a guide about 1" larger in diameter.) Place the tart dough inside of the tart pan(s), making sure the dough is firmly against the sides. Use a fork to poke the bottom a few times. Freeze for at least 10 minutes or until completely frozen, then for large tarts only: line frozen tarts with parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights/beans/rice.
8. For large 9"/10" tarts: Bake on a rimmed baking sheet for about 15-20 minutes or until the dough has hardened a bit, but is still very pale in color. Remove the weights and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until golden brown. For 4" tartlets and smaller tartlets: Bake on a rimmed baking sheet for about 12-15 minutes until the tart edges are golden brown and the bottoms are starting to turn brown. Cool completely before filling.
Storage. Tightly wrapped dough (up to step 5) keeps in the fridge for up to two days. Thaw at room temperature before rolling out to prevent cracking. You can can also store this dough in the freezer. Just put your plastic wrapped dough in a freezer ziplock bag for up to two months. Thaw in the fridge the day before you need them. I've baked crusts a day before serving and kept them at room temperature in an airtight container, just like cookies. I then fill and decorate the tarts the day that I plan to eat them.
While the top pie crust is optional, when used it is pinched together with the bottom crust to make a seal. PiesTarts – If you've ever thought a tart was pie, you're forgiven because they're incredibly similar. The main difference is that tarts only have a bottom crust, and the crust is much thicker than a pie crust.
Richard's solution: Tough pastry is very common, but easily avoidable. It usually occurs when you've been a bit heavy-handed with the water when you're initially bringing the pastry together (by adding water to the flour and butter), or if you have over-worked the dough and developed the gluten in the flour.
Cream together sugar, salt, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Add yolk and vanilla and beat to incorporate. Add flour and mix until a dough forms. Press dough squarely and evenly into the tart pan and trim off the edges.
Line the pie crust with a big piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil, then use pie weights to weigh down the pie crust to keep it from sliding down and shrinking. You can buy pie weights or you use dry beans, uncooked rice, or even pennies.
“You do not want to overwork the pastry [as] the gluten tightens then it's a bad texture. You do not treat pastry like bread; it's more delicate [and] you can overwork it.”
While some bakers blind bake a crust without weights, I have always had huge issues with my crust puffing up, so it needs something to weigh it down for the first part of the baking period, to allow the crust to partially bake and set, and to also hold the lovely crimped edge in place.
For the mini tarts, I like to just use a regular sized muffin tin to bake them in. Lining the muffin tin with paper liners also makes transferring and serving insanely easy!
As with the batters above, overmixed biscuit and pie dough will seem heavy—it may also appear overly uniform. If a biscuit or pie dough has warmed too much, it may take on a greasy appearance or tough texture (which will make it hard to roll out or handle).
Keeping pies from getting soggy after baking can be achieved by following these tips: Blind bake the crust: If you're making a pie with a moist filling, like fruit pies, blind baking the crust can help prevent sogginess. Blind baking means baking the crust without any filling in it.
Q: Can you make a tart in a pie pan? A: If you're in a pinch, you can certainly press your tart shell into a pie pan and fill it. The presentation, though, won't be as nice and you will have some difficulting slicing and serving. The better substitute for a tart pan is a springform pan.
Tarts tend to only have a bottom crust which is generally thinner than pie crust with straight sides and tart pans generally have a removable bottom so the tart can be served freestanding on a plate or platter making for a more elegant presentation.
In French cooking we make a difference between a tart pan (for quiches or fruit tarts with no filling) and a pie pan (for American style pies and cakes such as the NY cheesecake). You will find both sizes here: the tart pan is wider and shallow.The pie dish is smaller but deeper.
There are two main types of crusts that can be used for fruit pies: a traditional flaky pie crust made with flour, butter, and water, and a crumb crust made with crushed cookies or crackers and butter. Both types of crusts can be used for a variety of fruit pies, including apple, cherry, blueberry, and peach.
Introduction: My name is Neely Ledner, I am a bright, determined, beautiful, adventurous, adventurous, spotless, calm person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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