This dough is one I use for both the apricot and chocolate tarts given above and other dessert tarts formed in a shallow tart mold. It has a delicate, cookie-crumb texture (with lightness from the baking powder) and great buttery taste. And it takes no time to make in the food processor. This recipe gives you just the right amount of dough to form into a 9-inch tart shell—multiply the formula if you are making a larger tart.
Recipe information
Yield
12 ounces of dough, to fill a 9-inch tart mold
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, drop the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Process for a few seconds, to mix the dry ingredients.
Step 2
Cut the butter into 1/2-inch pieces, drop them onto the flour, and pulse the machine ten or twelve times, in short bursts, 20 to 30 seconds in all. The mixture should be crumbly, with only a few larger bits of butter visible.
Step 3
Drop the egg yolks into the processor and pulse in bursts, just until the dough starts to clump together in bigger crumbs—it won’t form a single mass. Scrape out the wet crumbs, press them together, and knead just for a few seconds, to form a smooth, tight dough. Flatten it into a disk, wrap well in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 3 hours or up to a day before using. Freeze the dough for longer keeping.
Step 4
Let the chilled dough sit at room temperature for 10 minutes or so before rolling. Thaw frozen dough completely, preferably in the refrigerator, before using.
Forming Sweet Tart Dough into a Tart Shell
Step 5
For either of the tart recipes here—or anytime you use this dough—follow these basic procedures to line a tart mold, turning the dough into a thin shell. I use a standard 9-inch metal tart mold with a fluted ring and removable round bottom, but this dough can line any 9-inch pan.
Step 6
Let the chilled dough soften briefly, but don’t let it get too warm. Put the disk of dough in between two pieces of wax paper or parchment (about 1-foot squares) and roll it out to an 11-inch circle: roll from the center, in all directions, trying to stretch the dough evenly. With 12-inch-wide paper, roll to a circle that comes right to the edge.
Step 7
Chill the dough circle in the refrigerator after rolling, inside the paper—this always helps. Peel the top paper off the dough, and center it over the tart mold. Peel off the other paper sheet; if the paper doesn’t come off easily, chill again, then remove. Press the dough gently down into the mold so it covers the bottom and comes up the sides.
Step 8
If the dough is cooperative, it may line the shell perfectly, and all you will have to do is even out the sides. But if it breaks into pieces or is uneven, you can press it into shape with your fingers. Here are some tips that will help you:
Step 9
Keep the dough cold: put it in the refrigerator whenever you have trouble.
Step 10
Moisten your fingers lightly to press and push the dough without its sticking to you (but don’t drip water in the shell). Move dough from thick spots to thin spots, until the bottom is evenly thick all over.
Step 11
To shape the sides, press the dough against the fluted rim with your index finger to form an evenly thick wall all the way around. Remove any dough that’s higher than the rim by flicking it against the sharp rim; put these bits back in the mold.
Step 12
When the shell is finished, chill it in the refrigerator before filling.
