I love this Sugar Crust (pâte sucrée) because it is so versatile and easy to use. You can roll it out quickly to make a pie crust or cookies. If you have a little more time, buy yourself a mini tart pan and use this Sugar Crust dough to make tartlets and fill them with lemon curd. Your guests won’t believe you made them yourself!
For a crust that is less sweet, try All-Purpose Pastry Dough
Prep time: 5 minutes
Note: Double the recipe for a two crust (lattice or plain) pie in a 10″-11″ pie dish. Any leftover dough can be made into cookies!
Sugar Crust
By Published: February 7, 2014
Yield:
- 9-10 Inch Crust or 30 tartlettes (8-10 Servings)
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 Cups Flour
- 2 Tablespoons Sugar
- 1/2 cup Non-dairy Margarine chilled
- 1 Large Egg Yolk Beaten with 3 Tablespoons Cold Water
- 1 small lemon Optional: I add zest if I'm making lemon tarts
Equipment
- Electric Food Processor steel knife inserted
- Cookie Sheet lined with baking parchment
- 9-10 inch flan ring or pie dish
- Baking Beads
Directions
- Pour flour and sugar into bowl. Pulse for 1-2 seconds. Cut margarine into tablespoons and add to flour. Using the pulse button, process ingredients until coarse crumbs are formed. With the processor running, pour egg and water through the feeding tube and process until dough forms at the side of the bowl. If the mixture seems too dry, add more water- one teaspoon at a time. When dough has formed, scrape it out of the bowl, flatten it into a disk and wrap in waxed paper. Chill dough at least one hour before rolling.
- PAR-BAKED SHELL: Preheat oven to: 425° F.
Note: Check the oven often. The sugar in the crust makes it easier to burn. If you haven’t rolled out the crust evenly, some parts may brown sooner than others. Cover the thinner parts with foil if they begin to burn.
- Remove dough from refrigerator 15 minutes before rolling. Line cookie sheet with baking parchment. Place flan ring on top of parchment. Roll out dough about 1/8th inch thick and fit into flan ring. Leave about one inch of dough overlapping the edge. Fold overhanging dough over the edge to create a thicker rim.
- Spread a large piece of foil over bottom of flan ring. Spread baking beads over the foil. Bake tart shell on bottom level of oven 10-12 minutes or until edges of the dough begin to brown. Carefully remove foil with baking beads from the crust. Pierce the tart shell lightly with a fork. Return crust to the oven. Bake five minutes more. Cool completely on a rack before filling.
- PRE-BAKED SHELL: Preheat oven to : 375° F.
Bake shell about 15 minutes or until you start to see the edge of the rust beginning to brown. Remove foil filled with baking beads. Prick the bottom of crust with a fork and continue to bake an additional 5-10 minutes until it is full cooked. Cool completely before filling.
