Pâte Sablée (Sweet Shortcrust Pastry)

Closeup of a pâte sablée tart shell on an angle.

Pâte Sablée (Sweet Shortcrust Pastry)

Make flawless French tart shells at home with this pâte sablée recipe. Buttery, sweet, crumbly, no blind-baking and freezer-friendly too!

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Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 15

Chilling time: 2 30

Total Time: 3 15

Servings: tarts (notes 4)

Calories: 146kcal

Equipment

Food processor helpful but not essential
Silicone "air" perforated baking mats helpful but not essential
10 8cm / 3 ¼ inch performated tart rings or tart pans of choice
Insulated baking tray or baking sheet
Rolling Pin
Rolling pin guides very helpful but not essential

For best results, weigh ingredients with a kitchen scale.

Ingredients

130 g unsalted butter cold and cubed (4 ½oz)
260 g pastry flour (or plain flour/all purpose flour) (2 cups)
30 g almond meal (almond flour) (¼ cup)
95 g icing sugar (powdered sugar) (¾ cup)
¼ teaspoon salt
45-50 g egg cold (this may be a large or medium egg depending on where you live)

Instructions

MAKE THE PATE SABLEE DOUGH: Weigh out the butter, cube it and leave it in the fridge right up until you use it.
Add the flour, almond meal, icing sugar, salt and cold, cubed butter to a food processor (or see notes for other methods). Process on low, pausing every 10 seconds, to check, just until the butter and flour mixture looks like sand. There should be no big chunks of butter left but it should not be clumping.
Add the egg and process on low until it starts forming large clumps and there is no flour visible.
Turn the mixture out onto a clean work surface and pull it together with your hands then knead it, pushing the dough down and away from you then gathering it back up, just until it looks smooth. This should take no more than 30-60 seconds.
For tart rings or small tart shells, cut the dough into 2 even pieces and roughly shape each one into a smooth rectangle shape. For larger tart shells, leave it as one piece.
Take a baking mat, silicone rolling mat or sheet of baking paper and dust very, very lightly with flour. Place one portion of dough on top, dust the top of that lightly and place another mat on top. Roll the dough out slightly, trying to keep a rectangular shape.
Roll the dough out to 2mm / ¹⁄₁₆ inch thick (or 3mm for larger tarts).
If using rolling guides, roll the dough to 1cm / ½ inch thick, then place a guide on each side of the dough.
Lifting the mat or paper, place the dough onto a chopping board so that it lays flat. Repeat with the second portion of dough. To get as many tart shells and the side pieces as possible from the first roll, roll one of the pieces a little more square to at least 25cm (10inch) on one side).
Place both in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight (best).
SHAPING THE DOUGH:
- Keep the dough as cold as possible as you work. If you feel it getting too soft or sticky, return it to the fridge for 10 minutes.
- For best results, make the dough the day before and chill in the fridge overnight.
- Make some room in your freezer (enough to fit a tray with the tart rings on it in a single layer or your tart pan). Line that tray with a baking mat or baking paper.
- At all times, you want the dough to be pliable yet firm. If it’s too soft, your tart shells won’t be as neat. If it's too firm, it may crack as you're trying to lift your pieces into your rings or pans.
For tart rings, take the square piece of rolled dough out of the fridge and peel back the top baking mat/sheet then place it back on. Flip it over and peel away the second one, setting it aside.
Using a ruler to guide a straight line and a dinner knife, cut 10 strips just slightly taller than the sides of your tart rings and long enough to go all the way round. See notes if using a tart pan (instead of rings).
For the 8cm perforated tart rings these strips are about 2 x 24cm / ¾ x 9 ½ inches.
Moving quickly so the dough doesn’t soften too much, use an offset spatula to help you lift each strip and place them into the tart rings immediately. Making sure the strip is up against the inside of the tart ring all the way around, cut the overlapping dough off leaving just a tiny overlap and gently seal that seam with your fingers.
Once they’re all done, take the the second portion of dough out of the fridge. Peel back the baking mat/sheets as per the first one.
Using the rings with the side strips already in place, gently press down to cut out the bases (this will slightly push the side strips upwards but also create a bit of a seal between the base and the sides). Place the tart shells straight onto the prepared freezer tray.
Very gently run the tip of your finger around the bottom inside corner of each tart to help to get a seal between the sides and the base. You don’t need to press it together with any force. The dough should have softened just enough at this point that just running the tip of your finger around will help to push the seam together a little.
Use a sharp knife to make 3 little pricks in the base of each tart shell. Freeze the tart shells for a minimum of 30 minutes but 1-2 hours is better.
See notes 4 for what to do with leftover dough.
BAKING THE TART SHELLS:
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F (not fan forced). Line an insulated baking tray (best) or regular baking sheet stacked onto a second one with a mesh silicone baking mat (best), regular silicone baking mat (2nd best) or baking paper.
Place the frozen tart shells onto the lined baking sheet. If you missed it, make sure to prick the bases a few times with the tip of a knife.
Bake for 15-18 minutes until turning golden inside. Larger tarts make take up to 30 minutes. Check at the 12 minute mark - if you notice the bases puffing up, just prick them again with the knife and gently press the bases down. They should deflate easily. Continue baking until done.
Let them cool on the baking sheet. They will be slightly soft after you take them out of the oven and will crisp and firm up as they cool. Remove the tart rings once cool.
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Notes

Yield: This recipe makes enough pâte sablée for a 10 inch tart pan or 10 mini tarts (using 8cm /~3 ¼ inch tart rings) - see notes 4 about leftover dough.
Methods for making the dough:
1. Food processor: I always get the best results with this dough using a food processor and it just happens to be the easiest method.
2. Stand mixer: You can use a stand mixer, making sure the butter is cold first blending the butter into the flour then mixing in the egg. This way can take 10 minutes just to get the butter to blend into the flour.
3. By hand: You can use your hands - cold butter is great but it can be tough on your fingers. Slightly softened butter works just as well using the hand method. Just use your fingertips to blend the butter into the dough. Try not to melt the butter and use light hands. Then mix in the egg by hand. This method tends to be quicker than using a stand mixer but messier than a food processor.
Tart rings / tart pan: Not using tart rings? No problem, it’s even easier to fit this dough into regular tart pans. Once you’ve rolled it out, simply flip it over onto the tart pan, then gently press the sides down into the corners. Gently press the sides up against the edge of the pan. Cut off overhang leaving just about 1cm/½ inch overhanging at the top. Chill the tart shells for 2 hours. Trim the overhang away, prick the base all over with a fork and bake. Let it cool in the pan before removing.
Leftover dough: Technically, there is enough leftover dough from making 2mm thick, 8cm tart shells to make another 7 shells (so 17 tart shells in total). You would need to re-roll another couple of times. If you don't need more than 10 tart shells, you can freeze the pastry for another time, or you could turn the leftover dough into some cinnamon roll cookies. Roll into a 3mm thick rectangle, sprinkle over 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, roll it up and freeze. Slice the log into ½cm rounds and bake until slightly golden on the edges.

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