Rich Tart Crust Recipes

MICHEL'S BASIC TART CRUST

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter. Beat in salt and sugar. Stir in half-and-half and 1/4 cup flour. Add the remaining flour, mixing with your fingertips or a fork until the ingredients are combined. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, and shape into a flat disk. Wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (This can be prepared a day ahead.)
• Butter a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Roll the dough out between two large sheets of plastic wrap into an 11-inch circle. Remove the top sheet of plastic. Invert dough into the prepared pan, and remove the remaining plastic. Trim and finish the edges. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the tart with parchment paper or aluminum foil, and fill with beans or pie weights. Bake until the crust is firm and set, about 20 minutes. Remove the beans and paper. Prick the bottom of the crust so it does not puff. Continue baking until well browned, 10 to 15 minutes.

RICH TART CRUST

Steps:

• Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor. Pluse once or twice.
• Add the butter and process about 10 seconds until the mixture looks like cornmeal.
• Add the egg yolks and process another few seconds.
• Place the mixture in a bowl and sprinkle 3 T of water over it. Gradually gather the mixture into a ball. Add more water if the mixture is dry.
• Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic, and freeze the dough for 10 minutes (or refrigerate for at least 30 minutes).
• Roll the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap - both sides sprinkled with flour.
• Roll from the center out. Add a little flour if it seems very sticky at first. But if it becomes sticky while you're rolling, put it back in the refrigerator for a few minutes.
• When the diameter of the dough is about 2 inches greater than that of your tart pan, move the dough into the pan.
• Before filling, freeze the dough for 20 minute or refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Bake as directed in the recipe.
• Or if not so directed, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Prick the crust all over with a fork. Line it with tin foil and weight the bottom with beans, rice (I used quinoa). Bake 12 minutes. Remove from the oven, reduced heat to 350 degrees and remove weights and foil. Bake another 10-15 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Remove and cool on a rack.

EASY TART CRUST

Steps:

• Blend flour and salt in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 3 tablespoons ice water and cream. Process just until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill 1 hour. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)

RICH SHORTCRUST PASTRY

Steps:

• Place the flour with a pinch of salt in a food processor, add the sugar, butter, egg yolk and vanilla and pulse for 30 seconds, or until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
• Continue processing until the mixture comes together, adding 1-2 tablespoons iced water (a bit at a time) if necessary.
• Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead lightly to form a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 15-20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 190°C, roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface.
• Wrap the pastry around a rolling pin, then unroll it carefully over the pan you are going to use for cooking your tart, press it firmly into the pan, trim off any excess and lightly prick the base with a fork.
• Cover the pastry with greaseproof paper and half fill the pan with pastry weights or dried beans and blind bake for 12 minutes, or until the pastry is lightly browned; OR follow the directions given in a particular recipe. This pastry is used in my recently posted Onion and Olive Tart Recipe #140798, where there is NO pre-cooking of the pastry. The pastry is simply chilled before the filling is added.

TART DOUGH

Steps:

• To make the dough in a food processor: Put the flour, sugar and salt in the processor and whir a few times to blend. Scatter the bits of butter over the flour and pulse several times, until the butter is coarsely mixed into the flour. Beat the egg with the ice water and pour it into the bowl in 3 small additions, whirring after each one. (Don't overdo it - the dough shouldn't form a ball or ride on the blade.) You'll have a moist, malleable dough that will hold together when pinched. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it into a ball (if the dough doesn't come together easily, push it, a few spoonfuls at a time, under the heel of your hand or knead it lightly), and flatten it into a disk.
• To make the dough by hand: Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Drop in the bits of butter and, using your hands or a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour until it is evenly distributed. You'll have large and small butter bits, and that's fine - uniformity isn't a virtue here. Beat the egg and water together, drizzle over the dough, and, using a fork, toss the dough until it is evenly moistened. Reach into the bowl and, using your fingertips, mix and knead the dough until it comes together. Turn it out onto a work surface, gather it into a ball (if the dough doesn't come together easily, push it, a few spoonfuls at a time, under the heel of your hand or knead it some more), and flatten it into a disk.
• Chill the dough for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.)
• When you're ready to make the tart shell, butter a 9- to 9 1/2-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom (butter it even if it's nonstick).
• To roll out the dough: I like to roll out the dough between sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap or in a lightly floured rolling cover, but you can roll it out on a lightly floured work surface. If you're working between sheets of paper or plastic wrap, lift the paper or plastic often so that it doesn't roll into the dough, and turn the dough over frequently. If you're just rolling on the counter, make sure to lift and turn the dough and reflour the counter often. The rolled-out dough should be about ¼ inch thick and at least 12 inches in diameter.
• Transfer the dough to the tart pan, easing it into the pan without stretching it. (What you stretch now will shrink in the oven later.) Press the dough against the bottom and up the sides of the pan. If you'd like to reinforce the sides of the crust, you can fold some of the excess dough over, so that you have a double thickness around the sides. Using the back of a table knife, trim the dough even with the top of the pan. Prick the base of the crust in several places with a fork.
• Chill - or freeze - the dough for at least 1 hour before baking.
• Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Press a piece of buttered foil (or use nonstick foil) against the crust's surface. If you'd like, you can fill the covered crust with rice or dried beans (which will be inedible after this but can be used for baking for months to come) to keep the dough flat, but this isn't really necessary if the crust is well chilled. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and put the tart pan on the sheet.
• To partially bake the crust: Bake for 20 minutes, then very carefully remove the foil (with the rice or beans). Return the crust to the oven and bake for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until it is lightly golden. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and allow the crust to cool before you fill it.
• To fully bake the crust: Bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until it is an even golden brown. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and allow the crust to cool before you fill it.

RICH SHORTCRUST PASTRY

Steps:

• Mix flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut butter into the flour mixture until it is the consistency of breadcrumbs.
• Lightly beat eggs together in a separate bowl; stir into butter-flour mixture. Add water and mix just until incorporated, using your hands to bring dough together.
• Turn dough onto a floured work surface and cut into 4 portions. Refrigerate dough for 15 to 30 minutes before using.

"CAVE PAINTING" CHOCOLATE TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. On lightly flouredplastic wrap, roll chocolate dough into a6-by-16-inch rectangle 1/8-inch thick. Liftplastic wrap; flip dough over 4-by-14-inchtart tin. Press dough intopan, pressing into corners of tin andagainst fluted edge, and trimming flush with edge. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
• Prick bottom of crust in several places with fork. Blind-bake crust: Line crust with foil that hangs over edges; fill with dried beans. Bake 20 minutes; let stand 5 minutes. Lift foil and beans from crust.
• In a medium pan over medium-high heat, cook cream, milk, and sugar until cream and milk are scalded, stirring to dissolve sugar. Place chocolate in medium metal bowl. Pour scalded mixture over chocolate; whisk gently. Add eggs; whisk gently. Add extracts; whisk gently.
• Pour chocolate filling into crust. Bake until filling has set, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pan on wire rack.
• Using small sifter, sift 2 tablespoons cocoa over tarts. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons cocoa with confectioners' sugar. Set stencils over tart. Sift sugar mixture over tart and remove stencils.