Makes: one (10 inch/25 cm) tart shell; eight (6 inch/15 cm) individual galettes; or 20 (3 inch/7 cm) mini tart shells
Prep time: 30 minutes
Chilling time: 1½ hours
Bake time: 35 to 40 minutes for a fully baked shell
This is an extremely versatile tart dough, and you can use it for all sorts of desserts – from simple recipes like Mixed Berry Galettes to mini jam tarts to something a little more refined like strawberry tart. The possibilities for this are endless.
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 1½ cups (225 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (113 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons heavy (35%) cream
For baking
- Butter for greasing the pan
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
Directions
1Whisk the flour, salt and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the cubed butter and, using your fingertips, lightly rub the butter into the flour until it resembles large breadcrumbs with some pieces the size of small peas. You can also use a pastry blender for this job.
2Make a well in the middle of the flour mix and add the egg. Using a wooden spoon, mix the egg into the flour until they are completely combined.
3Add the cream and mix until the dough is firm enough to form a ball when you press the mixture together with your fingers – it might be a little crumbly, but form the dough into a disk and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap.
4Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour, or up to 3 days, in the fridge. You can also freeze the dough, tightly wrapped in plastic, for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge before you roll and bake.
Making a 10 inch (25 cm) pastry shell
1Lightly grease a 10 inch (25 cm) tart pan, even if it’s a non-stick pan.
2Remove the dough from the fridge, let it sit for a few minutes and roll it between two sheets of parchment paper until it’s about 12 inches (30 cm) in diameter.
3Carefully peel off the top layer of the parchment and place your tart pan upside down on the pastry disk. Place one hand underneath the dough and the other on the tart pan and flip it over so you have the tart pan on the bottom and the dough on top. Gently peel the remaining parchment off the dough and press the dough into the pan. If your dough breaks in places you should have enough overhang to patch things up. Make sure to press it into the edges of the pan with your fingertips.
4Once the pastry is pressed into the pan, use a rolling pin to roll around the edges of the top of the pan to remove any extra pastry at the sides.
5Refrigerate the pastry shell for 30 minutes.
6Partially or fully bake the shell, depending on your recipe.
Excerpted from In the French Kitchen with Kids by Mardi Michels. Copyright © 2018 Mardi Michels. Photography © Kyla Zanardi. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
First printed in our sister publication France Today
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