Learn how to make the best pâte sablée for your favorite pies and tarts with this detailed, step-by-step guide. With all the helpful tips and tricks, this recipe is the only one you'll ever need to bake delicious tarts at home.
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Keyword french tart dough, pate sablee, sweet shortcrust pastry
Start by dicing the butter. Put it in a bowl and place in the fridge or a freezer to be completely cold before using.
Sift the flour, powdered sugar and salt into a large bowl. Stir it with a whisk to combine. Add the cold butter cubes, cover them with flour and start rubbing the butter and flour between your fingers.You're done after the mixture starts looking crumbly, like sand, after approx. 2 minutes. Some bigger bits are completely fine. Be as quick as you can so the butter doesn't melt.
Add the egg and lemon zest to the mixture. Using a fork, cut through the mixture to combine all the ingredients to form dough clumps.
Use the palm of your hand to gently knead it until it comes together into a smooth, sticky dough. Don't over do it.Place the dough on a piece of plastic wrap and wrap it to form a disc. Place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to rest and chill.
Take the dough from the fridge and place it between two sheets of parchment paper. If it's too cold, let it rest at room temperature until it becomes soft enough to roll without breaking, but not too soft.Roll the dough into a circle 2-3mm thick. You will notice that the more you roll it, the softer the dough becomes, which happens rather quickly. After you've rolled it, place it in the fridge again for 20-30 minutes to firm up.
In the meantime, grease the tart pan with a little bit of butter.
Remove the top parchment paper and turn the dough upside down in the tart pan. Gently remove the other parchment paper from the dough and use your knuckles to press the dough, gently, to fit into every corner of the tart pan. Remove any excess dough by going with a rolling pin on the edges, or you can use a knife.Once again, place the dough in the fridge or in the freezer, this time for at least an hour.
Preheat the oven to 160˚C (325˚F) if you're using a fan oven or 175˚C (350˚F) if you're not using a fan oven.
After the dough has chilled, remove it from the fridge and poke with a fork. Cover it with parchment paper and put some weight in the tart case. I used barley, but you can use rice, beans, or specialty baking beans.
Blind bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden. Remove the pan from the oven and remove the parchment paper with the weights. Return the pan to the oven and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes or until it's baked through completely and has a deep golden color. Once it's done, remove it from the oven and put it on a cooling rack to cool completely before adding any filling.
Notes
Please read all the helpful tips and tricks in the post!
This recipe is adapted from the Ferrandi "French patisserie" book.