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Chef Don's
Favorite Dessert Recipes
Pâte Brisée (French Short crust Pastry)
Makes 2 Tart Shells
2 1/2 cups AP Flour
1 tsp. Salt
2 sticks Unsalted Butter, chilled, and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 Tbsp. Sugar
1/4 to 1/2 cup Ice Water
In a food processor, place the flour, salt, and
sugar and process until combined. Add the butter and process
until the mixture resembles coarse meal (about 15 seconds). Pour
1/4 cup water in a slow, steady stream, through the feed tube until the
dough just holds together when pinched. Add remaining water, if
necessary. Do not process more than 30 seconds. Turn the dough
out onto your work surface and gather it into a ball. Divide the
dough into two equal pieces, flatten each portion into a disk, cover
with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to one hour before
using. At this point you can also freeze the dough for later use.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. To make sure it is the
right size, take your tart pan, flip it over, and place it on the
rolled out pastry. The pastry should be about an inch larger than
your pan. When the pastry is rolled to the desired size, lightly roll
the pastry around your rolling pin, dusting off any excess flour as you
roll. Unroll on the top of your tart pan. Gently lay in pan
and with a small floured piece of pastry, lightly press pastry into
bottom and up sides of pan. Roll your rolling pin over top of pan
to get rid of excess pastry. Prick bottom of dough (this will
prevent the dough from puffing up as it bakes). Cover and
refrigerate for 20 minutes. To prebake the tart shell: Preheat
oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and place rack in center of
oven. Line the unbaked pastry shell with parchment paper or
aluminum foil. Fill tart pan with pie weights or beans, making
sure the weights are to the top of the pan and evenly distributed over
the entire surface. Bake crust for 20 to 25 minutes or until the
crust is dry and lightly browned. Remove weights and cool crust
on wire rack. Proceed with desired recipe that calls for a
prebaked shell.
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