Sweet Tart Crust (Pâte Sucrée)
This homemade Tart Crust recipe is buttery, crisp, flaky, and easy to make. Pair it with Homemade Pastry Cream and it’s the perfect go-to base for making Fruit Tarts.
Just like homemade Pie Crust, or even Pizza Dough, making your own tart crust is much better in flavor, texture, freshness, and quality than store-bought.
![This homemade Tart Crust recipe is buttery, crisp, flaky, and easy to make. Serve this tart shell with pastry cream for the best Fruit Tart. Sweet Tart Crust baked and surrounded with berries](https://natashaskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Tart-Crust-Recipe-7-728x1091.jpg)
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Tart Crust Recipe
I’ve always been disappointed with store-bought fruit tarts. They look so beautiful and they are tempting for sure behind the bakery glass window, but it’s the crust that I struggle with. They are typically so hard and thick that I’m literally sawing it with my knife which leads to the crust falling apart despite my best efforts to keep the tart looking pretty.
Making a Tart Pastry is as easy as making basic shortbread cookie dough. The beauty of this tart dough is you don’t need pie weights – it doesn’t puff up or lose its form. Incorporating an egg yolk also helps to ensure it doesn’t get overly tough and difficult to cut through later.
![This homemade Tart Crust recipe is buttery, crisp, flaky, and easy to make. Serve this tart shell with pastry cream for the best Fruit Tart. Baked tart crust recipe ready to be filled and served](https://natashaskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Tart-Crust-Recipe-6-728x486.jpg)
Ingredients for a Tart Shell
The ingredients for making tart dough are so simple and you probably already have them in your pantry and refrigerator:
- Butter – use softened, unsalted butter so you can control the salt
- Sugar – granulated sugar adds sweetness to the crust
- Salt – use fine sea salt to balance the sweetness
- Egg yolk – creates a tender dough
- Vanilla extract – use homemade vanilla for the best taste and aroma
- All-purpose flour – creates an ideal, sturdy crumb
![This homemade Tart Crust recipe is buttery, crisp, flaky, and easy to make. Serve this tart shell with pastry cream for the best Fruit Tart. Ingredients for homemade tart shell](https://natashaskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Tart-Crust-Recipe-728x486.jpg)
How to Make Crust for Tarts
This dough is so easy to make and comes together in the bowl of a mixer (although you could make it by hand with a firm spatula and a mixing bowl).
- Cream together sugar, salt, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
- Add yolk and vanilla and beat to incorporate.
- Add flour and mix until a dough forms.
- Press dough squarely and evenly into the tart pan and trim off the edges.
- Bake over a baking sheet in the center of a preheated oven until golden brown.
- Cool on a rack then remove from the mold. Now you can use it to make a Fruit Tart.
![Learn how to make the best homemade tart crust dough Step by step how to make crust for tarts](https://natashaskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Tart-Crust-Recipe-9-728x546.jpg)
Pro Tip: Use a non-stick tart pan with a removable bottom which will make it much easier to remove the mold after the crust has baked and cooled. To remove the outer ring, you can place the tart over something that is narrower than the ring and gently pull down the outer ring to remove it. You can then slide a knife gently around the base to help the tart slide off the base easily or serve it on the base.
![This homemade Tart Crust recipe is buttery, crisp, flaky, and easy to make. Serve this tart shell with pastry cream for the best Fruit Tart. Step by step how to mold tart dough into a tart pan](https://natashaskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Tart-Crust-Recipe-10-728x546.jpg)
Common Questions
This is a sweet pastry dough that is pre-baked and is often used for pies that don’t require any further baking after being filled. That makes it perfect for fresh fruit tarts.
Pâte Brisée is more of the traditional Pie Crust. It’s flakier and tends to puff out of shape while baking which makes it more ideal for a classic filled and baked pie such as Apple Pie or Blueberry Pie. Pâte Sucrée incorporates egg and is a short-flake crust that is more cookie-like and crumbly.
Be sure the tart dough is cooled to room temperature before removing the tart pan. If the dough is warm, it will be softer and more likely to break.
Use a 11″ or 10″ “tart pan with removable bottom, or use a 9-inch square tart pan. This recipe will work for a 9” round tart pan, but will be a little thicker crust with a slightly longer baking time.
![Tart pan with removable base Tart pan with removable bottom](https://natashaskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Tart-Crust-Recipe-8-728x486.jpg)
Make-Ahead Tart Crust
There are so many great options to make this sweet tart crust ahead of time, before or after it is baked:
- Baked tart crust – can be covered and kept at room temperature for up to 3 days
- Raw tart dough – can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.
- Frozen raw tart dough – cover tightly with several layers of plastic wrap then set inside a freezer-safe zip bag, remove excess air and freeze for up to 3 months.
- To Thaw – place frozen tart dough in the refrigerator overnight before using then let it sit at room temperature just until it’s softened and malleable enough to press into the tart pan
![This homemade Tart Crust recipe is buttery, crisp, flaky, and easy to make. Serve this tart shell with pastry cream for the best Fruit Tart. Tart Crust baked ahead of time](https://natashaskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Tart-Crust-Recipe-5-728x1091.jpg)
More Homemade Pastry Recipes
Learning basic pastry recipes like this Sweet Tart Crust will give you confidence for experimenting with new recipes and variations. Many pastries call for the same basic dough recipes. For example, the choux pastry dough used to make Cream Puffs is also used to make Churros!
- Peach Galette
- Easy Pie Crust
- Eclairs
- Zeppole (Italian donuts)
- Fluffy Biscuits
Sweet Tart Crust (Pâte Sucrée)
![Sweet Tart Crust Baked and garnished with berries](https://natashaskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Tart-Crust-Recipe-SQ-150x150.jpg)
Ingredients
- 10 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for dusting
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar, salt, and butter and cream together on medium speed just until combined (2-3 minutes), scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Add egg yolk and vanilla and beat until incorporated, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Add flour and mix on low speed until the flour is fully incorporated and dough comes together (1 minute). Transfer dough to a clean work surface and shape the dough into a flat disk. Press the dough into an 11-inch or 10-inch round tart pan. The dough should be about 1/4” thick on the bottom and sides of the pan.
- Use the bottom of a measuring cup to press the corners squarely. Flatten the finished top edge with your fingertips or trim the top edge with a paring knife so it sits flush in line with the top of the tart pan (I repurpose any scraps by patching any thin-looking areas). Cover with plastic wrap and freeze 30 minutes while you preheat the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Set the tart pan over a baking sheet to make it easier to transfer and Bake at 350˚F in the center of the oven for 25-28 minutes or until golden brown then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the dough is at room temperature, carefully remove the outer rim by pushing on the base of the mold. To release from the base, carefully insert a knife between the pan and the crust to release, moving around the edges of the pan until the base releases easily.
I found this dough very hard to work with – any body else have that issue??? Help!
Hi Marcia! I wonder if you used too much flour? This can make the dough hard to work with. I have a tutorial on how to measure ingredients. I hope that helps.
One more question. After refrigerating the raw dough for a day do I still need to freeze it for thirty minutes ?
Hi Irene, the freezing is a quick way to cool the dough. There’s no need to freeze if it has been refrigerated for a day.
Just wondering.Is it
Possible to overwork the dough when you’re mixing or patting the crust into the tart pan?Should one worry about that?
Hi Irene, this is more forgiving than say a pie crust, but you don’t want to overwork this crust either – the less you handle it the better, especially if you have very warm hands.
I’m looking forward to make this for my mother in law’s birthday. My question is Can I make this crust ahead of time? How do I store it?
Hi Shideh, it can be. Please see the section in the recipe titled: “Make-Ahead Tart Crust” I hope that helps.
Step 1 of your instructions – you might want to chamge it to “stand mixer” instead of stand mixture
Thank you so much for pointing that out. Fixed!
Made your pastry cream and that came out great. I have to make a tart in stages- and I need to shop for a tart pan! I’d like to get the dough done, its says you can refrigerate the dough, but should I let it come to room temp before putting in it the pan and proceeding?
Hi Nancy! I’m glad to hear that. You can refrigerate or freeze the dough. To thaw, you’ll want to leave it in the refrigerator overnight before using then let it sit at room temperature just until it’s softened and malleable enough to press into the tart pan. This also applies to the dough that’s been refrigerated and not frozen. You just want to let it sit out long enough that it’s easy enough to work with and shape. I hope that helps!
Why does it have to be mixed using a paddle attachment? I have a very old stand mixer with the normal beaters. I don’t know what difference (if any) that it will make when it comes to mixing the dough together. Can I use my regular beaters? Thank you.
Hi Kelly! Yes, you can use regular beaters too. I prefer the paddle attachment because the way it’s designed helps for cutting butter into dough for light and flaky pastries like pie crusts.
Hi Natasha! I kove you fruit tart. But can I double this recipe for the crust? since im trying to make a lot of this. Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Hi Lin! Yes, you can double the recipe if your bowl is large enough. I’m glad you love the recipe.
Instructions mention adding cream but I do not see it in ingredient list.
Hi Diane, I’m sorry for the confusion. There is no cream used to make this recipe. I was referring to the method of “creaming” the ingredients together. It’s a term used when mixing together ingredients like butter and sugar. I hope you love the recipe!
I made the fresh fruit tart using this pastry. It was delicious. I want to use the same pastry dough on a rhubarb custard tart. The recipe for the rhubarb tart calls for partially cooking the pastry dough, then filling the tart and cooking for a further 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Will this dough work for this tart and how long would you suggest for the first bake before filling?
Hi Karen! I’m glad you love this recipe. I haven’t tested that to advise so you may need to experiment with it. This pre-baked pastry dough is often used for pies that don’t require any further baking after being filled. Let us know how it turns out if you test it.
Reporting back – I par baking the crust at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. When the pastry was cool I filled it with the rhubarb custard filling. I then baked the tart for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. The pastry (and the tart) was absolutely delicious. The pastry was extremely flaky and light. One guest said it was the best pastry he had ever eaten (this was after he ate three pieces 😀)
That’s amazing, Karen! Thank you for the feedback.
I know I’m rather late to this particular comment, but the holiday season is upon us so I want to add that I also use Pate Sucree (Sweet Pastry Crust) for a baked custard tart. Every Fall I make one or two pumpkin pecan tarts using this crust recipe, par-baked at 350° for 12 minutes, filled with pumpkin custard and baked at 425° for 15 minutes, and finally, topped with a pecan streusel and further baked at 350° for 35 minutes. Since this is a long bake and it’s made in an 11 inch tart pan, I double the recipe, divide it at a 60/40 ratio, and use the larger portion for a tart crust that is slightly thicker, maybe 3/8 inches thick. This ensures that the crust is still tender and delicious after all that oven time.. and I happen to have a fancy but small-ish Emile Henry Ruffled Pie plate that is just perfect for using the remaining crust dough. Simple cream pies are excellent with Pate Sucree.😋
I am excited to make this! I love ALL your recipes! Has anyone tried using this dough to make individual tarts, like in a cupcake tin? How long do you think it would be to bake them mini sized?
Hi Elizabeth! I have not tested these as mini or individual tarts to advise. I think the temp could stay the same, but you’ll need to watch them in the oven because they will bake faster.
Sounds good! Any extra tips for when telling when it is fully cooked or just keep an eye out for the golden crust?
Yes, the crust will be golden brown when it’s done. That’s really the best way to tell.
OK! I will let you know how it turns out, thanks so much! Making it tomorrow!
Hi Natasha, I want to make this fruit tart but my question is, in the directions for the tart crust it says to “combine sugar, salt, and butter and cream” where is the cream in the ingredient list for the crust? I’m confused! If I’m supposed to add it, how much?
Thank you..
Hi Flavia! I’m sorry for the confusion. There is no cream used to make this recipe. I was referring to the method of “creaming” the ingredients together. It’s a term used when mixing together ingredients like butter and sugar. I hope you love the recipe! 🙂
Thank you so much for clearing that up for me!
I LOVE your recipes. Every one has been a success and my family’s favorite so far is your chicken pot pie. Its fabulous, and so are you!
Thanks again…
Thank you for your thoughtful and kind words. I appreciate you so much!
The best tart recipe!
I made this for Easter for a fruit tart and it was the perfect crust. Easy and not fussy. Many compliments on the pâte sucrée.
Thanks, Robin for your excellent feedback!
Hello Natasha! What measurements would I use if I wanted to do a 13 inch tart?
Hi Elena! I have not tested this recipe in different size tart pans to advise on the measurement. You’ll have to experiment with it but my guess would be to start by increasing the recipe by about 1/3rd. Good luck!
Hi! Amazing tart crust recipe I definitely recommend, I have a question regarding if I can make the dough days in advance, if so how many days?
Hi Nate! Yes, you can. See my notes above under “make-ahead tart crust.” 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I’d like to make mini tart crusts in a muffin tin. Will the bake time or temp need to be altered?
Hi Liz! I have not tested that to advise. I think the temp could stay the same, but you’ll need to watch them in the oven because they will bake faster.
Hi! Making this tomorrow but I don’t have a non stick tart pan. Would I use some butter to grease the pan or cooking spray and flour? Thanks!
Hi Carol, cooking spray and a dusting of flour should work if your pan isn’t non-stick.
Thanks, Ill let you know how it turns out!
Appreciate you!
Hi Natasha! I LOVE all of your recipes–they’re easy to understand and so flavorful. Quick question for you, I made this crust but it came out very crumbly and hard to cut and remove. Any idea on what I did wrong? Thanks!!
Hi Liz! Thank you. I’m glad you love my recipes. This crust is a short-flake crust that is more cookie-like and crumbly but I wonder if possibly you used too much flour. This is how I measure my flour HERE.
Hi Natasha, I have a question, I made the crust but mine puffed up in the oven? Do I need to fork it before baking? Or blind baking it? Thank you )
Hi Marta! Did you freeze it for 30mins before baking? Be sure to press and flatten it well into the tart pan (I use the bottom of a measuring cup to press it down). You could try adding a few punctures with a fork, that may help if this issue continues.
Love your recipes. Just wondering if your Sweet Tart Crust can be used to make a butter tart recipie. I will need to cook the filling with the crust?
Thank you
Sharron
Hi Sharron, I haven’t tested that to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
I must now only prepare gluten free for my daughter. Please include, within the recipe somewhere, if gluten free flour may be used, like for this luscious looking tart crust.
Hi Kaye! I have not tested GF flour in all my recipes to include this note. Often times if you read through the comments you can find feedback from one of my other readers who has made this substitute. For this recipe specifically, I don’t see a comment that anyone has tested GF flour.
Love this recipe! I used GF flower instead of AP and it worked. It was a bit crumbly but it still worked. I used the same amount of GF flower.
I’m so glad it worked, Stephanie! That’s just That’s just awesome!
I wish you would put measurements in metric as well as cups.. We don’t use cups here
Hi Diane, you can use metrics when you check out newer recipes. You can click Jump top recipe then click Metric.
Am enjoying the recipes so yammy, i require some more from you natasha
the directions say cream but I do not see it in the ingredients list
Hi Chery, it is in step 1 under the instructions on the recipe card. I hope you love it!
oh my…my mistake… I misread it. I thought it was an ingredient not the process. Thank you for your recipes
Cream is a verb in the instructions, not an ingredient. I read it the same way at first, Cheryl!
Your recipes are the first ones I go to when I need a recipe. So good!
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
I was wondering if you had a chance to review the questions I sent you regarding liquid Apple extract?
Hi Dale, I don’t see any other comments from you on that. Also, I’m not familiar with that product so you may need to google that.
Hi Natasha,
Would you please tell me the weight of your flour? I can’t wait to try this!
Robin
Hi Robin, yes, I have added metric measurements. When you click on Metric in the recipe card, they should display. I hope you love the tart crust recipe.
I literally saw this recipe, had the ingredients and made it!! So amazing!
That is amazing! I love it when good timing happens and I’m so happy you loved the tart crust.