1,558 easy and fully explained recipes, with +66K photos and 78 videos

This site uses only a few technical cookies necessary for its operation. By continuing to browse, you accept their use.
To find out more...

How to make tart cases

Name: How to make tart cases
Prep time: 1 h 51 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 2 h 26 min
Yield: 6 cases
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 300 g sweetcrust pastry (pâte sablée); 20 g beaten egg

It's not easy to make beautiful, even tart cases, but here I'll let you into the secret of how the professionals do it.

You will see that there are a lot of little details that make all the difference. It's a bit technical, but don't worry, I'll guide you through the important points.

93 K 4.2/5 (12 reviews)

2 hours 30 min. difficulté

Average

1.60 €

6 cases

2 Ingredients

Last modified on: October 3^rd 2021

For 6 cases, you will need:

1 300 g sweetcrust pastry (pâte sablée)
2 20 g beaten egg
Total weight: 320 grams

Times for this recipe

Preparation: 1 hour 6 min.

Resting: 45 min.

Cooking: 35 min.

All in all: 2 hours 30 min.

When should you start or finish this recipe?

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 - ⌛ 1 min.

We'll be using tart rings, preferably the micro-perforated thermoplastic type, 3" (80 mm) diameter. These are much more practical than the classic tins or moulds.

Space them out on a sheet of cooking parchment laid on a baking sheet.

Stage 2 - ⌛ 5 min.

Roll out 300 g sweetcrust pastry (pâte sablée) really cold, straight from the fridge, to 1/8" (3 mm) thick. The best way to do this is to use a pair of pastry thickness guides.

Stage 3 - ⌛ 6 min.

Use a 3" (80 mm) cutter (or one of the tart rings) to cut out circles from the sweetcrust pastry...

Stage 4 - ⌛ 10 min.

...and place one in each ring.

Put the baking sheet in the fridge.

Gather the leftover pastry into a large rectangle and put in the freezer for 10 minutes, or refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Note: Throughout this recipe, as always with pastry, cold is your friend.

Stage 5 - ⌛ 5 min.

After chilling, your pastry will have firmed up again. Roll out once more to 1/8" (3 mm) thick in a rectangle about 10" (25 cm) x 7" (18 cm).

Stage 6 - ⌛ 6 min.

Cut 6 strips of pastry 1" (25 mm) wide, plus a spare one if you err on the side of caution.

Stage 7 - ⌛ 5 min.

Lay the strips on another baking sheet and put in the freezer for 5 minutes, or refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Stage 8

Take out the tray of rings and put a strip of pastry into the first, vertically around the edge.

It will be a bit too long and will stand up above the top of the ring. This is normal and intentional.

Stage 9

Trim the end of the strip with scissors or a knife to just fit inside the ring.

Press the ends together to seal and make as neat as possible.

Stage 10 - ⌛ 20 min.

Press around the bottom edge to seal the side and base together.

Stage 11 - ⌛ 10 min.

Prepare each case like this, taking the strips out of the fridge only as you need them, to ensure they stay really cold.

Put the tray of cases back in the fridge for 30 minutes or in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Stage 12 - ⌛ 8 min.

Preheat the oven to 320°F (160°C). Trim off the spare pastry around the tops of the rings with a small knife to give a perfect edge.

Note that we do this just before baking and while the pastry is really cold, to limit shrinkage during cooking.

Stage 13 - ⌛ 25 min.

Trim all the cases like this, then bake without delay for 20 to 25 minutes.

Stage 14

Keep a close eye on them for the first 10 minutes, as there is a risk that the top edge of the pastry might droop, as shown in this photo.

If this happens, open the oven and use the back of a small spoon to gently push the pastry upright again.

Stage 15 - ⌛ 1 min.

After 25 minutes, take the cases out, but leave the oven on.

Stage 16 - ⌛ 3 min.

Remove the rings. Be careful, as these will be hot! The best way is to slip a fork under the edge of the ring, then lift it gently.

Stage 17

Tip: put the rings in to soak right away, then they will be easier to clean later.

Stage 18 - ⌛ 5 min.

Use a brush to glaze the cases. Do this gently as they are still fragile (not fully cooked yet).

Stage 19 - ⌛ 10 min.

Put them back in the oven for a further 10 minutes.

Stage 20 - ⌛ 20 min.

Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Stage 21 - ⌛ 6 min.

When cold, you can give your tart cases a professional finishing touch by "filing" them with a microplane grater to make them smooth and even.

Stage 22

This photo shows the case before filing (red arrow) and after filing smooth (green arrow).

Stage 23

Your finished tart cases are ready for filling.

Stage 24

Now you can see how professional they look with their smooth, even sides.

It takes effort, but the results are worth it.

Remarks

This method can be used with other kinds of tart pastry: shortcrust, sweet, etc.

A possible variation is to put the side band in first, then the base circle. This is the opposite way round and a little trickier, but gives a perfect edge around the base after baking.

The glaze applied in stage 18 has two functions: it gives a better colour, of course, but also protects the bottom of the tart from moisture in the filling, avoiding the need to seal the pastry with chocolate (chablonnage).

Source: Home made, though after long discussions on the subject with my baker friend Sébastien..

Nutritional information

	Proteins (gr)	Carbohydrates (gr)	Fats (gr)	Energy value (in k-calories)	Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe	270 RDI=100 %	1,520 RDI=140 %	1,150 RDI=170 %	17,500 RDI=880 %	73,260 RDI: 880 %
Per 100 g	80 RDI=30 %	480 RDI=50 %	360 RDI=50 %	5,470 RDI=270 %	22,890 RDI: 270 %
Per cases	50 RDI=20 %	250 RDI=20 %	190 RDI=30 %	2,920 RDI=150 %	12,210 RDI: 150 %

Possible allergens in this recipe: Gluten, milk, egg, Nuts

How much will it cost?

For 6 cases : 1.60 €
Per cases : 0.30 €

Change currency:

Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.

Some other recipes using this recipeSee them all 6

Double raspberry tartlets

Little sweetcrust pastry cases filled with a raspberry jelly, then topped with a raspberry-flavoured whipped cream. Despite their intense raspberry flavour, these tartlets are lovely and light.
38 K 1 hour 7 min.

Victoria pineapple and lime tarts

This recipe for dainty tarts has sweetcrust pastry (preferably with coconut) cases, filled with sautéed Victoria pineapple and topped with a lime crémeux.
41 K 25 min.

Little apple and verbena tarts

A sweetcrust pastry case, filled with a smooth verbena-flavoured diplomat cream, and topped with caramelised apples. You will see how well the caramelised apples and verbena go together.
36 K 60 min.

Pear verbena tarts

Crisp sweetcrust pastry cases, a velvety diplomat cream flavoured with verbena, and slices of poached pears for delicious and dainty pear verbena tarts.
51 K 60 min.

Little lime tarts

With this very quick recipe, you can make little tarts that are nothing like those you find in the shops.
139 K4.3 40 min.

This recipe uses (among others)

Sweetcrust pastry (pâte sablée)

You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Tarte Jurassienne, Apple amandine tarts from Brélès, How to roll out pastry for a tart, Apple custard tart, Lemon and lime custard tart, ... See them all 45

Beaten egg

You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Cashew-nut and Parmesan biscuits, Pains briochés aux raisins, Rustic chicken and mushroom pie, Tea and white chocolate biscuits, Gisèle's Pasties, ... See them all 80

Other recipes you may also like

How to prevent butter burning during cooking

Butter, which is excellent for fixing flavours in a recipe, burns if the temperature is too high. It darkens and produces unpleasant small black specks (by the way, note that the famous recipe "raie au beurre noir", ray in black butter, is a kind of sacrilege!).

February 21^th 2011149 K 24.1 3 min.

Creamy risotto with diced vegetables and flax seeds

Risotto is one of the great Italian recipes. It's the special way in which rice is cooked and mixed with several other things, which produces this famous dish. One can make different flavour risottos, here is a fairly simple recipe with diced vegetables and flax seeds.

February 21^th 2011272 K 14.2 1 hour 50 min.

Sushi

Sushi is probably the best known element of Japanese cooking outside Japan. For the Japanese it's a culinary art learned over time from masters, but we can make simplified and easier sushi which are still pretty and delicious. The most common types of sushi are nigiri: a little oval-shaped mouthfuls of rice topped with raw fish, and maki: a nori seaweed roll filled with rice and other delicious ingredients.

October 13^th 2010358 K4.5 1 hour 40 min.

How to make fleur de sel (salt flakes)

French "fleur de sel" is a salt with a special texture, formed by the action of the wind on salt marshs. The wind dries the surface of the water which has a high salt concentration (this will later become sea salt) producing thin flaky crystals.

May 4^th 2011257 K 43.9 1 hour 7 min.

Cauliflower tabbouleh

In this tabbouleh recipe, the semolina is replaced by grated cauliflower heads, which is very fresh and surprisingly tasty.

May 18^th 2025140 K4.1 30 min.

News list of cooking-ez.com

Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.