How to make a good pastry tart case
Lining a tin or mould with pastry to make a tart or pie seems simple enough: you roll out the pastry, put it in the tin and trim off any overhanging bits.
It may not be rocket science, but if you want a tart with a perfect pastry case, it really helps to take care over a few details, which I will show you here.
It may not be rocket science, but if you want a tart with a perfect pastry case, it really helps to take care over a few details, which I will show you here.
72 K 3.1/5 (14 reviews)
45 min.
Easy
1 tart
1 IngredientLast modified on: July 14th 2019
For 1 tart, you will need:
350 g 
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 15 min.
Resting: 30 min.
All in all: 45 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 5 min.
Start by rolling out the pastry – 350 g sweetcrust pastry (pâte sablée) here – which should be really cold. You might find these tips helpful.
Roll the pastry out to the diameter of your tin + the height of the sides.
Roll the pastry out to the diameter of your tin + the height of the sides.
Stage 2 - 5 min.
Sit the tin your mould on a sheet of cooking parchment laid on a baking sheet. Ease the rolled-out pastry down into the tin. Use your fingers to press the pastry gently into contact with the sides, leaving any excess pastry overhanging the edge..
Stage 3 - 30 min.
It is most important to make sure that the pastry sit well into the corner where the base meets the sides (shown by the arrows on this diagram). There should not be any space left behind it.
Put the tin on its baking sheet into the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Put the tin on its baking sheet into the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Stage 4
After refrigerating, take the tin out of the fridge and sit it on the work top.
Stage 5 - 2 min.
Use a knife to trim off any excess pastry...
Stage 6
...all around the edge.
Stage 7
Your pastry case is now ready to be filled.
Stage 8
You can prick over the base if necessary (depending on the filling and pastry you are using).
Remarks
French pastry chefs have a whole arcane vocabulary of their own. There is no need for amateurs to know these terms and they often have no real equivalents in English, but if you'd like to broaden your chef's vocabulary, you can look them up on the following pages (just click on the little flag top right to see the original French version: the rolled-out pastry ("abaisse" in French), and the process of lining with pastry ("foncer" in French).
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 310 RDI=120 % | 1,770 RDI=170 % | 1,330 RDI=200 % | 20,350 RDI=1,020 % | 85,180 RDI: 1,020 % |
| Per 100 g | 90 RDI=30 % | 510 RDI=50 % | 380 RDI=60 % | 5,810 RDI=290 % | 24,340 RDI: 290 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 1 tart : 1.80 €
Change currency: 
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Sweetcrust pastry (pâte sablée)
You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Lemon Tart / Meringue Pie, Cherry and pistachio tarts, Pistachio custard tart, Late summer tart with plums and apricots, Rhubarb tart, ... See them all 43
Other recipes you may also like
Blackcurrant jelly
Blackcurrants are full of flavour and make an excellent jelly. In the depths of winter, you'll be glad you made some now.September 8th 202132 K4 60 min.
Chocolate tart
As you can see, there's very little added sugar in this recipe, so it's a very chocolatey and bitter-sweet tart.November 16th 2013295 K 15 2 hours 30 min.
Exotic fruit tart
An exotic fruit tart (bananas, kiwi and pineapple), with crisp pastry and almond cream which are cooked beforehand. It's a rather simple recipe, but the final result will impress your guests.May 27th 2020322 K5 2 hours 25 min.
Blackcurrant liqueur
The fruit liqueurs (or "creams" in French) are a mix of neutral alcohol in which fruits are macerated, and sugar syrup. They are the basis of the very famous "Kir", mixture of dry white wine and blackcurrant liqueur. This recipe is for blackcurrant, but it can be made with other soft fruits like...August 3rd 2013854 K 44.7 55 min.
Small foie gras pasties
Dainty pasties, filled with a morsel of seasoned foie gras.September 7th 2018323 K4.6 2 hours
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-05-25)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.