French Tart Pastry Recipes

PâTE SUCRéE - FRENCH SWEET TART CRUST (PASTRY DOUGH)

Steps:

• Mix Dy Ingredients: Whisk together flour, icing sugar, salt and almond meal in a bowl.
• Add butter: Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles breadcrumbs. (Note 4).
• Add 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 2cm / 0.8" thick disc. Wrap with cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Unwrap chilled dough. Place on a lightly floured work surface.
• Roll out into a 32cm / 13" round (3mm / 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 24 x 3 cm / 9.5 x 1.2" - you can use any up to this size.
• Prick the base of the pastry 30 times with a fork. Not all the way through - just make a light prick on the surface.
• Chill pastry in tart tin for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 200°C / 390°F (180°C fan).
• Baking beads: 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).
• 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 the 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 slighty undercooked inside (will finish cooking once filled and baked again).
• 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.
• Cool: Remove then cool in tart tin before filling (this ensures crust stays crispy once filled), then baking again if filling needs to be cooked (like this Pistachio Frangipane Pear Tart).
• Make ahead up to 3 days, suitable for baking once filled.

CLASSIC FRENCH FRUIT TART

Steps:

• Make the Crust: Complete the pâte sucrée through baking and cooling.
• Make the Pastry Cream: In a medium pot, heat the milk until just boiling. Remove the pot from heat. While the milk is warming, in a heat-proof mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg, egg yolks, and cornstarch. Whisk until the mixture is very smooth and has lightened in color, about 2 minutes. Whisking constantly, add about a quarter of the hot milk into the egg mixture. (This is called tempering. Tempering the eggs helps raise their temperature without cooking them, and helps emulsify them into the milk.) Pour the milk-tempered egg mixture into the pot of the remaining milk. Whisk to combine. Return the pot to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly to prevent "scrambled eggs," especially on the sides and bottom, until the magic happens and the pastry cream thickens, about 2 minutes. Stir in the butter and vanilla and cook one minute more, whisking constantly. The pastry cream should make thick, lazy bubbles. (See note below if you see any coagulated bits of egg in your custard.) Pour the thickened pastry cream into a clean, shallow bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and push it down in the bowl so it sits directly on the surface of the pastry cream. This prevents a skin from forming on top. Chill until cold, a few hours (or up to 2 days before serving).
• Assemble the Tart: Remove the tart ring and transfer the tart shell to a serving platter. Whisk the chilled pastry cream until smooth, then spread it evenly into the tart shell using an offset spatula. Arrange a generous amount of fruit over the pastry cream in your desired design. In a small saucepan, heat the apricot jam with 1 tablespoon of water over medium heat, whisking, until thin. (Alternatively, heat it in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave for about 30 seconds.) If the jam is especially chunky, strain it through a sieve. Use a pastry brush to gently dab the fruit with a thin layer of apricot glaze. Chill until ready to serve.
• Note: Avoid melon and other fruit with high moisture content, like sliced citrus. These will wilt quickly and seep moisture into the pastry cream. Also avoid oxidizing fruit like apples and bananas; these fruits will turn brown. Berries should be fully dried after rinsing (raspberries should not be washed) and strawberries should be sliced.
• Note: If you see any coagulated egg bits in your finished custard, strain the hot pastry cream through a fine mesh strainer.
• Make-Ahead Instructions: The pastry cream can be made up to 2 days before serving. The tart can be assembled and refrigerated up to one day before serving.

FRENCH TART PASTRY

Steps:

• Fit bowl of food processor with the metal blade; add in the flour, sugar, salt, and butter.
• Process on/off for 10 seconds (ten 1 second pulses) until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Add the egg and water to a small bowl; beat to mix.
• Through the feed tube, add the egg/water mixture and continue to process briefly (about 20 seconds) only until the mixture barely (but not completely) holds together.
• Turn mixture out onto a large unfloured board or smooth work surface; knead briefly (only a few seconds) until the mixture is smooth and holds together; press the mixture together to form a ball.
• Smooth the sides and flour it lightly.
• *Unless the kitchen is terribly hot, or unless you have handled the mixture too much (enough to melt the butter), it is not necessary to refrigerate this before using; if you must, refrigerate it for only about an hour or less; if it is refrigerated too long it will crack when you roll it out.
• Roll out and fit into tart pan.

FRENCH TART PASTRY

Steps:

• Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the butter, Rub into the flour until mixtureresembles fine bread crumbs.
• In a small bowl, mix the egg yolk, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons ice water. Add to the flour mixture. With a fork, toss gently to mix and moisten.
• Press the dough into a rough ball. If it is too dry, add 1 tablespoon water. Turn onto the work surface or a pastry board.
• With the heel of your hand, push small portions of dough away from you, smearing them on the surface.
• Continue moxing the dough in this way until it feels pliable and can be peeled off the surface easily.
• Press the dough into a smooth ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

FRENCH APPLE TART

Steps:

• For the pastry, rub the butter into the flour, sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl until crumbly. Mix in the egg until it forms a dough, then form into a puck shape. Cover and chill for at least 30 mins. Will keep chilled for two days.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to roughly the thickness of a £1 coin, and use to line a 23cm fluted tart tin, leaving some overhanging. Line with a disc of baking parchment big enough to cover the edges, and fill with some baking beans to weigh it down (use dried rice or lentils if you don't have baking beans). Bake for 15 mins, then remove the parchment and beans and bake for 10-15 mins more until the pastry is biscuity. Trim away any overhanging pastry with a serrated knife. Set aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, set aside four of the apples, then peel, core and roughly chop the rest. Put them in a shallow saucepan with 2 tbsp water, all but 1 tbsp of the sugar and the alcohol, if using. Cover and cook over a low heat for 25-30 mins, stirring occasionally and adding more water if needed, until the apples have collapsed into a purée. Taste the mixture and sweeten with more sugar, if needed.
• Turn the oven up to 210C/190C fan/gas 8. Peel, core and halve the reserved apples, then cut into even-sized slices. Spread the apple purée over the base of the tart case, then arrange the apple slices in neat, concentric circles, starting from the outside. Brush the apples with butter, then scatter over the reserved sugar and bake for another 20-25 mins until golden.
• Mix the jam with 1 tbsp hot water from a freshly boiled kettle. When the tart has finished baking, glaze generously with the jam, then leave to cool a little. Serve warm or cold, dusted with icing sugar, if you like.

PASTRY FOR A FRENCH TART

Steps:

• This is much more easily done in a food processor than by hand, but either method is acceptable. If the processor is used, put the flour into the container of the processor. Cut in the butter and add the sugar.
• Start processing while adding the water a little at a time. Add only enough water so that the dough can be held together and shaped into a ball.
• Or put the flour into a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces on top and sprinkle with sugar. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour. Remove the pastry cutter. Using the hands, start working the mixture while adding the water a teaspoon or so at a time. Add only enough water while working the dough until the dough can be gathered into a ball. Shape the dough into a ball.
• Flatten the dough into a round patty about one and a half inches thick. Wrap closely in foil or wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.