The Perfect Tart Crust – This tart dough bakes up into a thick, buttery, and flaky crust that is the perfect base for all your tart recipes!
The Perfect Tart Crust
Everyone has their go-to basic recipes, and this is one of mine.
I always come to this Sweet Tart Crust recipe whenever I need to make a dessert tart – it really is the best in my opinion.
This tart crust creates the most perfect base for any dessert tart. It makes a thick, buttery, and wonderfully flaky crust that you are just going to love!
Looking for more homemade crust recipes? Check out my Perfect Pie Crust.
Ingredients you’ll need
Here’s a list of ingredients you’ll need to make this crust. You can find my recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete list with their amounts.
- Plain/all-purpose flour
- Icing/powdered sugar
- Salt
- Unsalted butter: You’ll need this cold, and cut into small cubes.
- Large egg
How to make The Perfect Tart Crust
To make this tart crust by hand, grab a large mixing bowl, and whisk together the flour, icing sugar, and salt.
Add the butter, and using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs with pea-sized pieces.
Add the egg and mix until the dough starts to come together.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and gather into a ball. Shape the dough into a 1-inch thick disc, wrap in clingfilm, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before use.
To make this crust using a food processor, add the flour, icing sugar, and salt to the processor and pulse a few times to combine.
Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs with pea-sized pieces. Add the egg and pulse to combine.
Do not process to the point that a large ball of dough is formed. The dough should be quite crumbly with large clumps, and should stick together when you press a piece between your fingers.
Shape and wrap in clingfilm as mentioned above, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before use.
The printable recipe card with the full list of ingredients, their measurements, and instructions can be found at the bottom of this post.
NOTE: For best results, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup measurements. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough, and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
How to Blind Bake
Start by rolling the dough out on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch circle.
Place into a 9-inch fluted tart tin. Gently lift up the excess dough and press it into the corners of the tin, making sure not to stretch the dough. If you press the dough into the tin without lifting the excess up, you risk stretching or ripping the dough which can lead to shrinkage.
Roll the pin over the top of the tin to trim off the excess dough. Prick the base all over with a fork, then place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
Line the chilled pastry crust loosely with parchment paper, and fill almost to the top with uncooked rice. Make sure they’re fully distributed over the entire surface.
Place the tin on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes, then remove the paper and rice.
To partially bake the crust: Bake for a further 5 minutes without the parchment paper and rice. Proceed with your tart recipe by adding the filling and finish baking.
To fully bake the crust: Bake for a further 10 minutes without the parchment paper and rice until golden brown and dry. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
This Perfect Tart Crust is:
- super quick and easy to throw together
- made with only 5 simple ingredients
- thick, buttery, and flaky
- the perfect base for all of your tart recipes!
How long will this tart crust last before I need to use it? You can keep the tart dough in the fridge for up to 5 days, or you can freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before use.
This recipe makes one 9-inch tart crust, and can easily be doubled to make two tarts, or halved to make mini tarts.
Did You Make This Recipe?
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The Perfect Tart Crust
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (190g) plain/all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (62g) icing/powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Add the flour, sugar, and salt to a food processor, and pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs with pea-sized pieces.
- Add the egg, and pulse until the dough starts to come together.
- Do not process to the point that a large ball of dough is formed. The dough should be quite crumbly with large clumps, and should stick together when you press a piece between your fingers.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, and gather into a ball. Shape the dough into a 1-inch thick disc. Wrap tightly in clingfilm, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before use.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information:
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this crust for a fruit tart that I brought to a birthday party. I made the tart because the birthday girl said that her mom used to make one for her on her birthday. Thought it would be a nice gesture, since I had never met her. She wouldn’t share the tart with anyone at the party, and ate it a few days later for a brunch with friends. She said it was delicious!! And that she usually didn’t like to eat the crust, but couldn’t resist!! So, I felt really good. Thank you for this recipe. I am using it today for a strawberry-rhubarb pie. I figured, why not? See how it works!
I used to struggle with tart crust in the past but not anymore thanks to your fantastic recipe!
This crust was perfection! And now I definitely need more tarts in my life. 🙂