How to Make a Shortcrust Pastry Tart Crust

Today I’m sharing an easy recipe for homemade shortbread tart crust, perfect for filling with custard or fruit pie fillings. As an alternative to flaky pie crust or pastry crust, pâte sucrée or sweet shortcrust pastry contains more sugar, as well as an egg yolk, which makes it crisper and more cookie-like. This is an easy recipe that anyone can make, since you can simply press the dough crumbs into your pan, with no need to roll out the dough unless you want to.

Looking for more recipes like this? You’ll love this chocolate almond tart, vanilla bean custard tart, and classic lemon tart.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Just a Few Simple Ingredients. You only need 5 ingredients and a few minutes to prep this shortcrust pastry.

Easy to Make. This is such an easy tart crust recipe, since you don’t even need to get out your rolling pin.

Versatile. Fill this crust with any variety of custard, fruit or chocolate fillings. Use it as the base for a pan of fruit crumb bars. Add a little almond flour or crushed pecans for a nutty flavor. There’s nothing you can’t do with this dough!

High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients and Tools

• 9-inch Round Tart Pan with Removable Bottom. If you don’t already have a tart pan, you’ll need one for this recipe. I have a round tart pan like this one, as well as a long rectangular pan like this one, and I love them both.
• Pastry Cutter or Food Processor. You can make the dough with just a pastry cutter, but it’s also super quick and easy to make it with a food processor. I describe my process of making dough with a food processor in this post.
• Flour. All-purpose flour gives the crust strength and structure.
• Sugar. I typically use powdered sugar in my shortcrust pastry, as well as my favorite shortbread cookies, as the fine texture keeps the dough soft and tender. You can use granulated sugar in today’s recipe, though, if it’s all you have on hand.
• Salt. A pinch of salt enhances the flavors and balances the sweetness of the fillings that you fill your tart with.
• Butter. Gives the crust a rich, buttery flavor and crisp cookie texture.
• Egg. You’ll be separating the egg, using the yolk in the dough to bind it together, and brushing the white on the crust to help seal it against moisture.

Instructions

Make the dough.

• In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt.
• Add the cold butter and cut it in with a pastry cutter until crumbly and well combined.

• Add the egg yolk, stir it in, then get your hands into the dough and rub the yolk and butter into the dough crumbs until moistened. If you can squeeze the dough together in your hand and the crumbs hold together, then it’s ready to press into the pan.
• Pile the crumbs into your tart pan, then spread them out and evenly and firmly press them against the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
• Freeze the crust for 30 minutes.

TIP: The dough is very easy to make using a food processor as well. Instead of pressing crumbs into the pan, you can continue to work the dough until it comes together into a ball, and roll it out onto a floured surface (you may need to add several teaspoons of ice water to the dough). The rolled dough is fragile, so you’ll need to transfer it to your pan carefully. Patch up any cracks with extra dough.

Bake.

• Preheat the oven to 375 F.
• Fit a piece of parchment paper into the frozen crust, and fill the paper with dried beans or pie weights.
• Bake the crust on the center oven rack for 20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven, and carefully remove the beans and the parchment paper. Lightly brush the crust with the egg white.
• Return the crust to the oven and bake for an additional 10-12 minutes, until golden brown and baked through.
• Let cool, then fill with your favorite tart fillings.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use salted butter instead of unsalted butter?

Yes, you can. Just be sure to reduce or omit the extra salt in the recipe. I always use unsalted butter, since I’m not sure of the salt content in salted butter, and I want to control the saltiness in my bakes.

Will this recipe work as cutout cookies?

This dough isn’t quite sweet enough for a cookie. I suggest you use my classic shortbread cookies recipe instead.

Can I use a pie pan instead of a tart pan?

You can, but it will be more difficult to get slices out without breaking them, as the crust is very delicate. The pretty fluted edge is a classic look for a shortcrust pastry, that you can only get with a tart pan.

Can I make the dough in advance and freeze it?

To make the dough ahead of time, you should work the dough into a ball. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap well in plastic wrap, and freeze for up to 3-6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then let warm up at room temperature until it’s pliable enough that you can roll it out.

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