Day 185: Sweet Short Paste
A sweet, short paste is a standard dough that can be used as the base for sugar cookies, tarts, pie crusts, and quiches. It has just enough sugar to get a hint of sweet, but is not exclusive to desserts. It’s also not as high in fat or sugar as a sugar crust, so it holds up well and gives a sturdy structure to its filling.
Today we’re making this as a tart shell to house our Saffron Crème Pâtissière and some other delicious elements that we’ll make tomorrow.
Ingredients:
- 3 c pastry flour
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- ½ tsp. salt
- 10 Tablespoons COLD unsalted butter
- 4 ½ Tablespoons COLD shortening
- ½ c to 3/4 c ice-cold water
(This recipe will yield enough dough for two 7”-9” tarts or a full top & bottom enclosed pie crust; the recipe can be halved if needed.)
Preheat the oven to 400°
Grease your tart pans well and set aside.
Combine your dry ingredients
cut your butter and shortening into 1/2″ cubes
and plop them into the flour mix.
Pinch the fats in by scooping them up with the tips of your fingers and squeezing them into the flours. Try to keep the dough away from the middle of your hands where you emit more heat. You want the butters to stay in tact.
Using a mixer or food processor, slowly add the water into the flour/butter mix until you have a thick, but combined dough.
The final blending or “fraisage” is what smooths the butter into the flour to create a paste.
Using only the heel of your hand,
press down,
and smear the dough in 6” runs across a lightly floured surface. Turn the dough and repeat until the butter is well combined.
Flour your dough and seal it in cling wrap to chill for a minimum of 3 hours. (I usually leave it overnight.)
Once it’s fully chilled, roll out your crust to 1/4” thickness and place in your pans.
If you’re making mini-tarts, use a biscuit cutter to fit the pan
and depress into the cavity.
For a full size tart, gently press the edges without letting them get too thin
and flatten the edge with your thumb while slicing the excess dough.
To prevent the crust from rising, line with crumpled parchment paper
and fill with uncooked beans (or pie weights)
or another cake pan that’s one size smaller.
Bake for 8-9 minutes and remove from the oven.
Take out the weights (you’ll see the shell is not fully cooked)
and poke holes with a fork throughout the bottom.
Return to the oven for an additional 8-10 minutes until the crust is thoroughly cooked and starting to turn pale gold.
When it has cooled, remove it from the pan to cool and crisp up and receive your fillings.