Tony Zentgraf
One of the easiest doughs to make and work with! As the name suggests, Pâte Sucrée translated means Sweet Dough. Fill the tart shell with pastry cream, lemon curd or a chocolate filling it will be your tart crust.
Great Recipes for a Sweet Tart Dough!
- Fresh Fruit Tart with Crème Pâtissière
- Lemon Tart
- Chocolate Tart
- Raspberry Chocolate Tart
Sweet and Flavorful
Somewhere between a pie dough and a cookie this sweet and flavorful crust will dazzle your tastebuds. Made with butter, sugar, eggs and flour, these simple ingredients blend to deliver a rich flavorful crisp crust that is almost cookie like.
The higher content of butter and additional eggs than a pâte brisée or butter pie dough makes it richer. The process if making the Pâte Sucrée dough can be assembled in a bowl of a mixer. I prefer the mixer as it is quicker to cream the butter and sugar than with a spoon or spatula in a bowl. Why make it difficult? 😎
Three Classic French Doughs
There are three classic French pastry doughs, Pâte Sucrée, Pâte Sablée and Pâte Brisée. Each one is unique to their own flavors, preparation and uses.
Pâte Sucrée (Sweet Dough)
Also known as a Sweet Dough or Short Dough is the easiest to make of the three doughs in my opinion. The method of making Pâte Sucrée can be done in a mixer with a paddle attachment. Creaming the butter and sugar sets the method of assembling this dough apart from the other doughs.
Creaming the butter and sugar gives the tart a light crispy texture similar to a cookie. Because the creaming method is done in a mixer the dough comes together within a few minutes. Press the dough into a disc shape, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for a couple of hours to firm up the dough.
Pâte Sablée (Sandy Dough)
The ingredients are similar to Pâte Sucrée but the dough is typically richer. This dough recipe may have higher butter or egg content than Pâte Sucrée. The method for assembly is where the two differ. Where Pâte Sucrée the butter and sugar are creamed together, the butter and sugar are hand crumbled together to give a coarser texture to the finished dough.
I have only used a type of Pâte Sablée dough as a cookie. But if you do an internet search, you will find that the ingredients will vary between one recipe to another for this one.
Pâte Brisée (Butter Dough)
The most fragile dough out of the three, the ingredients are once again similar but this one lacks egg yet includes water and is typically less sweet. Brisée dough is similar to Classic Pie Dough but between the two there are variations.
Pâte Brisée is usually an all butter dough vs Classic Pie Dough can have a combination of butter and shortening or just shortening. The use of shortening gives a flaky texture to the finished crust and the butter will give a flavorful finish.
While these two dougs are similar in many ways one of the best of both recipes can be assembled in a food processor. This method makes assembling the dough quick and easy. Be sure to rest these doughs in refrigeration to allow the gluten to relax before rolling as the gluten strands can develop fast under the quick blade of the processor.
In Summary
Basically all of these doughs are made to be the crust for a dessert. Sweet fillings from pastry cream, curds or chocolate are best used with either a Pâte Sucrée or Pâte Sablée tart crust. Fruit fillings or cream fillings are traditionally used to fill a Pâte Brisée or Classic Pie Dough Crust. Plus these two doughs are used in deeper pie pans instead of a tart pan.
Each style of dough makes a different texture or flakiness in the finished crust. Choose the dough that best fits your need but I think that you will lean to this recipe for tart shells and Pâte Brisée or Classic Pie Dough for pies.
Best part about all of these doughs is they refrigerate for up to 5 days and can freeze for up to 2 months.
We didn’t talk about dough for a quiche, look for the quiche recipes coming soon…
Enjoy!
Pâte Sucrée (Sweet Dough)
Print RecipeEquipment
- Stand Mixer
- Measuring Spoons & Cup
- Kitchen Scale - to weigh sugar & flour
- Plastic Wrap
- 9", 10" or 11" Tart Pan with false bottom
- Pastry Brush
- Rolling Pin
Recipe Multiplier
Pâte Sucrée Dough (Sweet Dough)
- 1 lb Butter - softened to room temperature
- ½ lb Sugar - 1 cup plus 2 tbsp approximately
- 3 ea Egg Yolks
- 1 ea Whole Egg
- 1 ½ lb Cake Flour - 3 2/3 cups approximately
Instructions
Making the Pâte Sucrée Dough
- In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment add the softened butter and sugar.Mix on medium speed to cream them together. Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl to ensure it is smooth and combined.
- With the mixer running on medium speed, add the egg yolks one at a time.Allow the egg to combine into the creamed butter and sugar before adding the next yolk and egg.Repeat until all eggs are added. Scrape the bowl as need to combine all ingredients.
- Add one cup of flour at a time to the mixing bowl. Run the paddle to combine the flour with the other ingredients.Repeat until all of the flour is added.Scrape as needed, mix to combine.Turn off the mixer once the ingredients come together. The dough does not benefit from continued mixing.
- Lay plastic wrap on the counter and place the dough in the center of the plastic wrap. Form the dough into a disk and flatten to about 1/2-3/4" thick. Wrap the plastic wrap around the dough and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. The dough needs to be firm before rolling.
Baking the Pâte Sucrée Dough
- Place the disk of refrigerated dough on a floured board.Allow the dough to sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes to soften slightly.
- Dust the dough with flour.Using a rolling pin, press slightly into the dough at several points to begin the rolling process. This will give you an idea of how soft the dough is before you actually start rolling. If the dough is still very firm, allow to sit for an additional 5 minutes before rolling.
- Roll the dough to 1/4" thick. Turning the dough to develop a round shape. Redust with flour as needed to keep rolling pin from sticking. The dough may seem soft if the temperature is too warm in the kitchen. Or it may seem a touch wet, just add an additional dusting of flour and continue to roll
- Have the tart pan within reach.Roll the dough onto the rolling pin. Move the dough over the tart pan at the closest edge to you. Lay the dough onto the tart pan as you unroll the dough. The dough should be evenly placed onto the tart pan.
- Manipulate the dough into the bottom of the pan. Lightly press the dough into the bottom corner of the edge of the pan.Form the dough up the sides of the tart pan.
- Roll the pin over the top of the pan to cut the dough or press the dough outward to cut the dough to fit the pan.
- At this point you can either blind bake the tart with parchment and pie weights or dock the bottom with a form.Refrigerate the dough for 15 -20 minutes to firm up the dough before baking.
- Bake the tart shell directly the rack in the oven at 350° If blind baking bake for 20 minutes then remove the weights and bake an additional 5. minutes to allow the bottom to finish baking.If baking a docked crust, bake for 25 minutes.
- Allow the crust to cool completely before filling.
