Classic Tart Crust (Reduced Sugar)
By America's Test KitchenPublished on April 19, 2020
Time
1½ hours, plus 1 hour chilling, 30 minutes freezing and 1 hour cooling
Yield
Makes one 9-inch tart crust
Sugar
4 grams (down from 9)
Ingredients
1 large egg yolk 1 tablespoon heavy cream ½ teaspoon vanilla extract ¼ cup (1⅓ ounces/38 grams) Sucanat 1¼ cups (6¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour ¼ teaspoon salt 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces and chilled
Before You Begin
You can learn more about Sucanat in this article. Do not skip grinding the Sucanat in step 1 or the dough will look speckled and be difficult to roll out. If the dough is soft or sticky, slide onto a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm.
Instructions
- Whisk egg yolk, cream, and vanilla together in bowl. Grind Sucanat in spice grinder until fine and powdery, about 1 minute. Process flour, ground Sucanat, and salt in food processor until combined, about 5 seconds. Scatter chilled butter over top and pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 15 pulses. With processor running, add egg yolk mixture and process until dough just comes together, about 12 seconds.
- Form dough into 6-inch disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour. (Dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.)
- Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes. Roll dough into 11-inch circle on lightly floured counter. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom, letting excess dough hang over edge. Ease dough into pan by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into corners and fluted sides of pan with your other hand. Run rolling pin over top of pan to remove any excess dough. Wrap dough-lined pan loosely in plastic, place on large plate, and freeze until dough is chilled and firm, about 30 minutes. (Dough-lined tart pan can be wrapped tightly in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.)
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Set dough-lined tart pan on baking sheet, line with double layer of aluminum foil, covering edges to prevent burning, and fill with pie weights.
- For a partially baked tart crust: Bake until crust is golden brown and set, about 30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Remove weights and foil and let crust cool.For a fully baked tart crust: Bake until crust is golden brown and set, about 30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Carefully remove weights and foil and continue to bake until deep golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Let crust cool completely, about 1 hour.
Time
1½ hours, plus 1 hour chilling, 30 minutes freezing and 1 hour coolingYield
Makes one 9-inch tart crustSugar
4 grams (down from 9)Ingredients
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (1⅓ ounces/38 grams) Sucanat
1¼ cups (6¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces and chilled
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (1⅓ ounces/38 grams) Sucanat
1¼ cups (6¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces and chilled
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (1⅓ ounces/38 grams) Sucanat
1¼ cups (6¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces and chilled
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
We set out to achieve the perfect naturally sweetened tart dough that could act as a base for any number of tart recipes. We found that a single egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of cream gave the dough the necessary richness. A stick of butter provided great flavor and made for a delicate crumb—any more and the dough became difficult to handle. In place of the confectioners' sugar in our traditional recipe, we used Sucanat, which we ground to give it a fine texture that prevented the tart crust from turning out speckled. Rolling the dough and fitting it into the tart pan was easy, and we used the extra dough to patch any holes.
Before You Begin
You can learn more about Sucanat in this article. Do not skip grinding the Sucanat in step 1 or the dough will look speckled and be difficult to roll out. If the dough is soft or sticky, slide onto a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm.
Instructions
- Whisk egg yolk, cream, and vanilla together in bowl. Grind Sucanat in spice grinder until fine and powdery, about 1 minute. Process flour, ground Sucanat, and salt in food processor until combined, about 5 seconds. Scatter chilled butter over top and pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 15 pulses. With processor running, add egg yolk mixture and process until dough just comes together, about 12 seconds.
- Form dough into 6-inch disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour. (Dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.)
- Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes. Roll dough into 11-inch circle on lightly floured counter. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom, letting excess dough hang over edge. Ease dough into pan by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into corners and fluted sides of pan with your other hand. Run rolling pin over top of pan to remove any excess dough. Wrap dough-lined pan loosely in plastic, place on large plate, and freeze until dough is chilled and firm, about 30 minutes. (Dough-lined tart pan can be wrapped tightly in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.)
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Set dough-lined tart pan on baking sheet, line with double layer of aluminum foil, covering edges to prevent burning, and fill with pie weights.
- For a partially baked tart crust: Bake until crust is golden brown and set, about 30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Remove weights and foil and let crust cool.For a fully baked tart crust: Bake until crust is golden brown and set, about 30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Carefully remove weights and foil and continue to bake until deep golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Let crust cool completely, about 1 hour.
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