How to make a Sweet Tart Shell or Pâte sucrée

Learn to make a classic Sweet Tart Shell (pâte sucrée) from scratch with this easy-to-follow guide. Using a handful of basic ingredients, this buttery, tender tart crust is perfect for both sweet and savory tart shell recipes and creations.

Jump to:

• Shortbread tart crust recipe
• Pie crust vs. tart crust
• What is a sweet tart crust made from?
• Equipment
• How to make sweet tart shells
• Pie weights and alternatives
• Baking tips and tricks
• Making tart shells ahead of time
• Troubleshooting and FAQs
• Use your tart shells for these recipes and more:
• Sweet Tart Shell

Shortbread tart crust recipe

If you’re looking for the best crust for your homemade tart, this Sweet Tart Shell recipe (AKA (pâte sucrée) is a pastry game-changer. Imagine rich shortbread dough molded into a crust of any shape or size. After a quick trip in the oven, it transforms into a sweet and butter tart shell! 

It’s the perfect shell for all kinds of sweet or savory fillings, like lemon and mascarpone cream, chocolate ganache, and even mashed sweet potatoes! I’ve made this dough in rectangular pans, small circular pans, larger tart shells, and mini tart shells pans. The options are truly endless. 

Pie crust vs. tart crust

Pie crust and tart crusts are both made with flour and butter and filled with all kinds of delicious fillings, but have very significant differences! Tart dough has a sturdy texture (just like a cookie), is enriched with eggs and butter, and has a rich flavor. The crust you use for homemade pies is much more flaky and light.

What is a sweet tart crust made from?

• Three kinds of flour - You’ll need almond flour, all purpose flour, and bread flour to achieve a sturdy and tender texture, as well as the perfect flavor.
• Powdered sugar - Just like in shortbread cookies, powdered sugar sweetens the shell while helping achieve a fine, moist crumb.
• Butter - This is a French pastry, so naturally, there’s a ton of butter. Make sure it’s room temperature and use European butter for more fat and flavor!
• Vanilla - For flavor. Both vanilla paste and vanilla extract work. 
• Sea salt - Salt brings out the sweet and buttery shortbread-like flavor. 
• Eggs - Eggs add moisture and support to the dough. Be sure to use room temperature eggs so the dough is easy to work with and mixes properly.

Equipment

There are a few pieces of equipment that are helpful when making pâte sucrée from scratch. Here’s what I recommend you invest in:

• Tart Pan - While you can technically use a variety of pans in place of a tart pan, you won’t get the gorgeous fluted edges that I associate with the perfect tart. Feel free to opt for either a round or rectangular or mini variety, or choose individual tart pans instead.
• Food Processor - These kitchen powerhouses are great at shredding, blending, dicing, chopping, mixing, grating, and countless other tasks (like cutting butter into flour for pie dough!). They’re also indispensable for making homemade nut flours.
• Electric Mixer - I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: do your arms a favor and invest in an electric mixer. If at all possible, I suggest a stand mixer (or hybrid hand/stand mixer) so you can multitask.
• Pie Weights - You simply cannot blind bake a pastry shell without pie weights. They don’t have to be fancy, though! Dried beans or dried rice will do just fine. Note that dried beans/rice can be used repeatedly for pie weights, but should not be eaten after being used as such.

How to make sweet tart shells

Step 1: Make the dough. In the bowl of a standing mixer, mix the sugar, butter, vanilla, salt, almond flour, and all-purpose flour together. Add the eggs one at a time. To finish, mix in the bread flour until you end up with a firm ball of tart dough. 

Step 2: Chill the dough. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour. This will help ease the rolling process and also ensure that the dough has a moment to relax after so much gluten development has occurred during the mixing process, and before the rolling/forming steps.

Step 3: Roll and chill the dough. Roll the dough onto a floured work surface and then press it gently into the bottom of a buttered tart pan. Poke the bottom LIBERALLY with a fork and then transfer it to the freezer to chill and rest. This second chill will keep the dough from shrinking in the oven.

Step 4: Bake. Line the tart shell with a piece of parchment paper and fill the middle with pie weights (tips on what to use are below!). Bake until the crust is barely browned and set

Blind baking tart crust

The term “blind baking” refers to baking the dough before adding any tart fillings. There are two levels to blind baking: ​​partially baked and fully baked. This is a preventative measure to make sure that the base of your tart is not soggy.

• Fully baked: The dough needs to be fully baked if you’re filling the tart with sweet or creamy fillings (such as chocolate ganache) that don’t need to be baked in the oven.
• Partially baked: In this method, the dough is partially baked before the filling is added. This way, both the crust and the filling finish together. My pancetta gruyere & walnut tart is a great example of this method!

Tart dough has a tendency to puff up during baking. To combat this I make sure to poke the base of my tart dough with a fork and utilize what's known as pie weights (detailed below). You know that your tart crust is finished blind baking when the crust is barely browned and set.

Pie weights and alternatives

You can certainly purchase what's known as pie weights online, yet at home, I use either uncooked rice or dried beans instead. Pie weights act as the "weight" that prevents tart dough from puffing up and losing its shape.

Once you've used your beans or rice as a weight in the oven, they are too dry to use/eat but make sure to save them! I keep my rice in a container marked "baking rice" and use it continually, pouring it back into the container after each use.

Baking tips and tricks

• Do not overmix! You don’t want to overwork the gluten, ultimately causing the dough to shrink and lose its shape. If you think you may have overworked the dough, it’s crucial to let the dough rest and the gluten relax.
• Poke holes in the dough - “Docking” or poking holes in the bottom of the dough helps the dough steam and prevent it from becoming soggy.
• Pie weights are important - They keep the dough in place and prevent it from rising or bubbling. If you don’t have pie weights, use uncooked rice, popcorn kernels, or dried beans. You can reuse these “weights” in more tart or pie recipes to cut down on food waste!
• Freezing the shells before baking - This is essential. Your tart shells are less likely to shrink while baking if you take the time to freeze them for 20 or 30 minutes beforehand. 

Making tart shells ahead of time

Raw tart dough and baked tart shells are both easy to make in advance. To make sure the dough or shells stay moist and buttery, follow these storage instructions: 

Making tart dough in advance:

• Refrigerator: The raw tart dough is best used after 24 hours in the fridge, but can be stored for up to 5 days. When it’s time to roll out the dough, take it out of the fridge 30 minutes beforehand so it’s easy to work with.
• Freezer: Wrap up the raw dough really well in plastic and freeze for up to 3 months. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge before using.

Baking tart shells in advance:

• Refrigerator: Once the shells are baked and cooled, keep them in an airtight container or sealed bag in the fridge. They’ll stay fresh and moist for up to 3 days.
• Room temperature: If the weather isn’t too hot, you can store the shells at room temperature for about 3 days.
• Freezer: Wrap the partially or fully baked and cooled shells in plastic and freeze for up to 2 months.

Troubleshooting and FAQs

Use your tart shells for these recipes and more:

• French Pear and Hazelnut Tart  
• Mini Strawberry Tartlets
• Passion Fruit Tart with Whipped Honey
• Rosemary Dark Chocolate Tart

As always, I love seeing your creations and hearing from you! If you try this recipe, please share your creation with me on social media! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube and Pinterest - for more delicious recipes sent straight to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter!