Sweet Shortcrust Pastry - Pate Sucree'

A Pate Sucree' aka shortcrust pastry is the perfect base for many desserts, such as tarts, pies, and desserts. It's a buttery, sweet pastry with a biscuit-like crumb that just melts in your mouth. And, it is surprisingly easy to make it yourself.

Table of Content

• Why make homemade shortcrust?
• Ingredients and substitutes
• Step by step instructions
• More tart recipes
• Frequently asked questions
• Troubleshooting
• You may also like
• Printable Recipe
• Join the conversation

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Many names for the same dough, the French call it Pate sucree', some brands sell it in the name sweet pastry crust dough and we bakers refer to it as sweet shortcrust pastry.  Whatever name you call it, it is a delicious pastry that can take your baking to the next level. Read different types of crust for baking or different types of pastry.

Why make homemade shortcrust?

• Pate Sucre's as the name suggests is sweet pastry and made exactly the same way we make the pie crust. So, if you have made a pie crust before, then this is the same dough with added sugar.
• It's quick and easy. This dough takes 5 minutes in the food processor or 10 minutes by hand.
• It's simple. There are just 5 ingredients, which are all pastry staples. So, you can make this any time you want.
• You don't need any special skills to make pie crust. This is one recipe where you get rewarded for being imperfect. The less you work with the dough the more flaky it will be.
• And the best part is, you can make it ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• You can use this dough to make one large pastry or few mini tart shells.

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Ingredients and substitutes

• Butter - You want to use unsalted butter - the color of your butter will determine the color of your pastry. I'm using a pale white butter. And if you can't find unsalted butter, go ahead and use salted butter, but omit the additional salt in the recipe.
• Egg yolk  - This is important as it gives the pastry that crumbly biscuit-like texture and color too. For a vegetarian or eggless shortcrust use all ice water.
• Chilled water - We need to keep the butter in the pastry cold at all times until baking, which is one reason we use chilled or ice water. Also, we use very little water because our goal is to keep the pastry crumbly. Adding more water will take that crisp texture away and give us a tight dough.
• Sugar - This is a sweet shortcrust pastry and used for sweet tarts. Having said that, if you have a very sweet filling, like when making a pecan pie, it is best to use pie crust or omit the sugar in this recipe.

Step by step instructions

Shortcrust dough

• Food processor - Add the flour, salt, and sugar to the food processor. Pulse for 30 seconds. Then, add the chilled cubed butter. Pulse for 30 seconds at a time until you have a breadcrumb consistency.
  By hand - Alternatively, you can do this by hand using a fork, pastry blender, or your fingertips to cut the butter into the flour until you reach breadcrumb consistency.

• Combine egg yolk and ice water, add to the mixture, and combine well but do not over mix.
  Pro tip - The mixture will still be crumbly, but when squished with your fingers, it should form a dough.
• Pour the crumbly mixture on a floured surface and gather it all into a ball. Flatten the ball into a disc and chill for 30 minutes.
  Pro tip - We need to chill just until it is firm enough to roll. This dough can be kept in the fridge for 2 days, thaw a few minutes before rolling.

Roll the shortcrust

• When chilled, lightly roll on a floured surface to about ⅛ thickness.
  Pro tip - If the dough cracks too much around the edges it means it is too chilled. Leave it on the counter for 5 to 10 minutes until you are able to roll again smoothly.
• Use your 9-inch tart pan as a guide to see how big you need to roll it. Also, make sure the pastry is not too thick. Otherwise, there will be no space for your filling.
  Pro tip - If you live in a warm climate, roll the pasty over parchment paper and chill for 10 minutes before the next step.
• Transfer the pastry - To transfer the dough carefully roll it around your rolling pin, lift the rolling pin to the tart pan, and unroll it.
  Pro tip - Alternatively, gently fold the disc in half and then quarter. Pick and place the quarter in the pan and unfold it.
• Gently press the dough into the tart pan making sure to press down into the shape of the pan.
  Pro tip - This dough is delicate. So, if it breaks don't worry so much. Just patch it and do the best you can. It will be filled so no one will see the patches ?.
• Trim the excess dough at the edges with a rolling pin, or your thumb. Chill the tart shell for 15 to 30 minutes.

Prepare for baking

• Preheat the oven at 375°F / 190°C / Gas Mark 5.
• Prick the pastry all over with the tines of a fork to prevent the dough from puffing. Line the chilled dough with parchment paper and fill it with baking beans or pie weights.
  Pro tip - The best way to line the pie with parchment is to scrunch the paper into a ball, open it, and line with the crumpled paper.

How to partially bake shortcrust

• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the edges are lightly starting to brown. Remove the parchment paper and weights.
• Add the filling and continue baking until the filling is cooked. Cool on a wire rack completely before you take it out of the tart pan.
  Pro tip - If the pie edges get too dark tent the edges with foil or a pie shield.

How to fully baked (prebaked) shortcrust

• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the edges are lightly starting to brown. Remove the parchment paper and weights.
• Continue to bake the empty shell for 10 to 15 minutes more until lightly golden. Cool on a cooling rack until completely cold before you add any filling.
  Pro tip - This is a fully baked tart shell and can be used to add any filling once cooled completely. Do not remove from the pan until you have finished assembling.

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Frequently asked questions

Troubleshooting

• Why is my pastry hard when cooked?
  There are a few reasons for this
  • Pastry dough is supposed to be high in fat which gives it the qualities of crumbly, flaky and buttery. If you reduce the fat content, your tart will be more doughy than buttery which means harder.
  • Also, pastry dough is made with flour which must be handled lightly keeping activity to the minimum. If the dough is kneaded too much, the resulting pastry will be hard. 
  • When stored in the fridge a pastry dough will be hard because the fat is chilled and hard to roll. Don't worry, just let it rest outside until it's firm but good enough to roll.
• How do you keep the pastry from shrinking?
  Nothing is worse than to find your tart has shrunk after baking. Here are a few tips that might help.
  • Do not overwork the dough. Remember flour has gluten, and if you overwork the dough you will activate the gluten. You cannot omit the formation of gluten entirely but you can control by handling it carefully, so it does not contract in the heat of the oven. 
  • Never add too much water to the dough. Keep it flaky by adding only enough water to bring it together. This is harder in the beginning but gather the dough lightly and use a cling/plastic wrap to help form a disc. 
  • Let the dough rest before rolling and before baking. This will help the dough relax, so it is easier to roll and helps the butter chill so it doesn't melt as quickly when baking. 
  • Bake at a higher temperature. This will melt the butter while cooking the dough instantly which means the cooked dough immediately soaks up all that melted butter.

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