a reliable sweet dough for tarts
No, I don't have one - I NEED one. I wrote a bit ago about the Meyer lemons, and made a lemon tart using an Emeril recipe, but was disappointed in the way the dough behaved and ultimately tasted. The dough shrank and split during baking - though I did follow the directions and baked for 10 minutes with parchment and pie weights, exactly as instructed. But in the end it still cracked, which was an annoyance because I still had to add the filling and bake it. (You already know that it stuck to the bottom of the pan in some parts, right?) It also came out too thick and dry and hard.
The lemon filling was very good, and I'd like to use it again, but need a good, reliable, well-behaved sweet dough. Also, any tips for handling it would be helpful, too. I don't often make tarts so maybe I just need to develop the right touch. Anybody...?
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11 Comments:
I like the jamie oliver one:
http://forayintofood.blogspot.com/2007/11/short-crust-sweet-pastry-thanks-to.html
I used it with a lemon tart and its quite sweet, perfect with a lemon filling.
Pastry is a bit voodoo but the main important thing seems to be not to handle it. Jamies solution is not to roll it out, but I've tried with this dough and it still is fine and flaky and delicious.
jennywenny at 7:43PM on 01/15/08
I've heard good things about Rose Levy Beranbaum's sweet dough recipe. It is in her Pie and Pastry Bible.
Carosone at 9:02PM on 01/15/08
I use Dorie Greenspan's sweet tart dough from Baking From My Home to Yours. Here's a link from a recipe she posted here, and by the way, this strawberry tart is awesome! I've probably made it 15 times in the last 9 months!
I have success just patting this dough in the pan without the fuss of rolling or anything, with proper freezing, I haven't had one crack or shrink yet.
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2007/08/dorie-greenspan-recipe-an-easy-fruit-tart.html
And here is an addition to make the dough with nuts:
Sweet Tart Dough with Nuts: This dough has a slightly more assertive flavor than Sweet Tart Dough above, but you can use the two interchangeably. For the nut dough, reduce the amount of flour to 1-1/4 cups and add 1/4 cup finely ground almonds (or walnuts, pecans or pistachios).
bobcatsteph3 at 9:16PM on 01/15/08
I'm partial to the Gordon Ramsay. It is the really firm cookie type dough used for lemon tarts/fruit tarts in french patisserie.
SWEET PASTRY (for fruit tarts or lemon tarts)
11 tablespoons (5 ½ oz) of butter cut into pieces
¾ cup confectioners sugar (plus 2 tbsp)
1 lg egg
½ tsp kosher salt
2 cups of flour
(extra butter and flour for the tart pan)
Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add egg. Add salt then gradually add flour until mix comes together. Shape into disc and let rest in fridge for 1 hr to 1 day. Roll out, put in pie tin, then let rest 20 mins. Blind bake at 375F for 30 to 40 mins until golden brown. Then take out beans and parchment and bake 10 - 15 mins longer. Place on rack to cool completely.
lexophile at 10:32PM on 01/15/08
I think for a lemon tart, I'd try adapting Ina Garten's short bread dough in her Linzer Cookie recipe.
visit cookingmonster.com
DaveFaris at 3:45AM on 01/16/08
Most important, more than the recipe, is how you lay the tart dough into the pan. Lay it in and DON'T stretch it to the sides. Press it gently, and fold it in where needed. Any pie or tart dough wants to go to its original form, so when you stretch it, it will shrink back to the original measurement. Also, you should not overmix. It should just be combined until it is uniform, but you still see bits of fat. The more you play with the crust, the tougher it will be. Sometimes if you have a good pie crust recipe, you can add 2 egg yolks and a few tablespoons of sugar to make a "pate sucre". Martha Stewart's tart dough is pretty good, and I'm sure the previously suggested recipes are also good. Just remember to keep everything cold, and don't overwork because the perfect dough is more about science, than the ingredients
Mich23 at 8:23AM on 01/16/08
I use a basic shortbread recipe for lemon tart. It contains no water and is thus less likely to shrink. You press it into the pan rather than rolling it out.
For an 8-inch tart, you'll need 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup soft butter (11/2 sticks), a little over 1/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt. Cream the butter and sugar together with a fork, add the salt, and then gradually mix in the flour. Press the dough into the pan. Bake blind for 10 minutes at 350F. Cool; proceed with tart recipe as directed.
thebasilqueen at 9:49AM on 01/16/08
My favorite tart crust recipe is Thomas Keller's Pine Nut tart crust dough, from his French Laundry cookbook:
Because this dough uses only one egg, it is difficult to make in a smaller quantity. Freeze the extra dough for another time. Makes enough dough for three 9" pan tart crusts.
INGREDIENTS:
10 ounces (2 cups) pine nuts
1/3 cup sugar
1 pound (3 cups) all-purpose flour
8 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
PROCEDURE:
Place the pine nuts in a food processor and pulse a few times. Add the sugar and flour and continue to pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
Add the butter, egg, and vanilla extract and mix to incorporate all the ingredients (the dough can be mixed by hand or in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment). Divide the dough into three equal parts. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes before using. (The extra dough can be frozen, wrapped well, for up to 1 month.)
TO MAKE A TART SHELL:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter and flour a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and refrigerate it while the oven preheats.
Roll out the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap to make circle about 11" in diameter.
Remove the tart pan from the refrigerator. Place the circle of dough in the pan. Use your fingertips to push the dough into the fluted edges of the pan. Use any excess dough to patch up any holes and even out the top edge.
Bake the crust for 10 to 15 minutes, then rotate it and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until it is golden brown. Remove the crust from the oven and let it cool while you make the filling.
seyo at 11:15AM on 01/16/08
I agree with bobcatsteph3 about the Dorie Greenspan recipe that was published here on Serious Eats:
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2007/08/dorie-greenspan-recipe-an-easy-fruit-tart.html
It makes one of the most delicious and easiest-to-work doughs I've ever used. I froze it directly in the tin, and baked it frozen -- no shrinking or splitting, it baked up tender, flaky and very delicious. It also remained delightfully crisp even when the tart was a few days old, and most crusts would have become sodden.
Julie at 3:29PM on 01/18/08
I like Martha Stewart's version...
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/pate-brisee-pie-dough?autonomy_kw=pate%20sucre&rsc=header_8
it's easy and very reliable. I make it with whole wheat pastry flour.
Madelyn.
KarmaFreeCooking
MadelynRodriguez at 4:25PM on 01/18/08
Find a copy of the original Betty Crocker Cookbook , (it was recently reprinted) or any other published cookbook of that period. The recipes are not what you want so much as the pictures that accompany techniques. Study what they have to say. Remember, in the 1950s, people made almost all the pies consumed. No frozen food industy yet to speak of then. Apply the info and as my mom would say, "Practice and then practice some more." Good pie crust sweet or savory takes practice!
misterybus at 2:48PM on 01/21/08