This homemade Tart Crust recipe is buttery, crisp, flaky, and easy to make. Pair it with Homemade Pastry Cream and it’s the perfect go-to base for making Fruit Tarts.
Just like homemade Pie Crust, or even Pizza Dough, making your own tart crust is much better in flavor, texture, freshness, and quality than store-bought.
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Tart Crust Recipe
I’ve always been disappointed with store-bought fruit tarts. They look so beautiful and they are tempting for sure behind the bakery glass window, but it’s the crust that I struggle with. They are typically so hard and thick that I’m literally sawing it with my knife which leads to the crust falling apart despite my best efforts to keep the tart looking pretty.
Making a Tart Pastry is as easy as making basic shortbread cookie dough. The beauty of this tart dough is you don’t need pie weights – it doesn’t puff up or lose its form. Incorporating an egg yolk also helps to ensure it doesn’t get overly tough and difficult to cut through later.
Ingredients for a Tart Shell
The ingredients for making tart dough are so simple and you probably already have them in your pantry and refrigerator:
- Butter – use softened, unsalted butter so you can control the salt
- Sugar – granulated sugar adds sweetness to the crust
- Salt – use fine sea salt to balance the sweetness
- Egg yolk – creates a tender dough
- Vanilla extract – use homemade vanilla for the best taste and aroma
- All-purpose flour – creates an ideal, sturdy crumb
How to Make Crust for Tarts
This dough is so easy to make and comes together in the bowl of a mixer (although you could make it by hand with a firm spatula and a mixing bowl).
- Cream together sugar, salt, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
- Add yolk and vanilla and beat to incorporate.
- Add flour and mix until a dough forms.
- Press dough squarely and evenly into the tart pan and trim off the edges.
- Bake over a baking sheet in the center of a preheated oven until golden brown.
- Cool on a rack then remove from the mold. Now you can use it to make a Fruit Tart.
Pro Tip: Use a non-stick tart pan with a removable bottom which will make it much easier to remove the mold after the crust has baked and cooled. To remove the outer ring, you can place the tart over something that is narrower than the ring and gently pull down the outer ring to remove it. You can then slide a knife gently around the base to help the tart slide off the base easily or serve it on the base.
Common Questions
This is a sweet pastry dough that is pre-baked and is often used for pies that don’t require any further baking after being filled. That makes it perfect for fresh fruit tarts.
Pâte Brisée is more of the traditional Pie Crust. It’s flakier and tends to puff out of shape while baking which makes it more ideal for a classic filled and baked pie such as Apple Pie or Blueberry Pie. Pâte Sucrée incorporates egg and is a short-flake crust that is more cookie-like and crumbly.
Be sure the tart dough is cooled to room temperature before removing the tart pan. If the dough is warm, it will be softer and more likely to break.
Use a 11″ or 10″ “tart pan with removable bottom, or use a 9-inch square tart pan. This recipe will work for a 9” round tart pan, but will be a little thicker crust with a slightly longer baking time.
Make-Ahead Tart Crust
There are so many great options to make this sweet tart crust ahead of time, before or after it is baked:
- Baked tart crust – can be covered and kept at room temperature for up to 3 days
- Raw tart dough – can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.
- Frozen raw tart dough – cover tightly with several layers of plastic wrap then set inside a freezer-safe zip bag, remove excess air and freeze for up to 3 months.
- To Thaw – place frozen tart dough in the refrigerator overnight before using then let it sit at room temperature just until it’s softened and malleable enough to press into the tart pan
More Homemade Pastry Recipes
Learning basic pastry recipes like this Sweet Tart Crust will give you confidence for experimenting with new recipes and variations. Many pastries call for the same basic dough recipes. For example, the choux pastry dough used to make Cream Puffs is also used to make Churros!
- Peach Galette
- Easy Pie Crust
- Eclairs
- Zeppole (Italian donuts)
- Fluffy Biscuits
Sweet Tart Crust (Pâte Sucrée)
Ingredients
- 10 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for dusting
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar, salt, and butter and cream together on medium speed just until combined (2-3 minutes), scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Add egg yolk and vanilla and beat until incorporated, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Add flour and mix on low speed until the flour is fully incorporated and dough comes together (1 minute). Transfer dough to a clean work surface and shape the dough into a flat disk. Press the dough into an 11-inch or 10-inch round tart pan. The dough should be about 1/4” thick on the bottom and sides of the pan.
- Use the bottom of a measuring cup to press the corners squarely. Flatten the finished top edge with your fingertips or trim the top edge with a paring knife so it sits flush in line with the top of the tart pan (I repurpose any scraps by patching any thin-looking areas). Cover with plastic wrap and freeze 30 minutes while you preheat the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Set the tart pan over a baking sheet to make it easier to transfer and Bake at 350˚F in the center of the oven for 25-28 minutes or until golden brown then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the dough is at room temperature, carefully remove the outer rim by pushing on the base of the mold. To release from the base, carefully insert a knife between the pan and the crust to release, moving around the edges of the pan until the base releases easily.
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Hate to be THAT guy, but step 1 calls for “cream” to be added to the crust batter. When asked about this you refer to a section re directing to to make creme patisserie. Not to not pick but your recipe step 1 is confusing as it makes it seem like heavy cream should be added to the batter, and not creme patisserie to the final cooked product.
Hi Brian. I’m sorry for the confusion, What I mean by “cream” in step one is- the process of “creaming” together the butter and sugar. This is a very common baking term used in recipes.
However, if someone has inquired about the pastry cream, that is a separate recipe which is linked in red font through the post. I hope that helps to clarify.
You use a little more butter and a little less sugar as well as isolating an egg yolk for the recipe. Why?
Hi Alex, this is pretty traditional for making a tart crust according to my research. I haven’t tested it without the yolk.
Hi Natasha: I’m trying this pate sucree this weekend and wondered if it would be good for a lemon meringue tart. Thanks in advance.
Hi Claudette! I think so, I’ve seen it made with a crust like this. Let us know how it turns out.
I sure do enjoy your recipes.You’re awesome.Thank you so much.I can’t even tell you how much I appreciate it
The recipe doesn’t state how much cream to use.
Hi Kate. Please see the first paragraph in the recipe card where it says “pastry cream” in red font. You can click on that for the pastry cream recipe link. For specific instructions on how much to use, you’ll need to go reference the actual Fruit tart recipe here. The ingredients list links the pastry cream recipe (and this crust) and specifies to make the whole recipe once (one batch). They are all separate recipes because we use them in other recipes too (like filling eclairs and cream puffs). I hope that helps clarify.
I used your tart crust to make mini fruit tarts and they held together well with care. The flakiness and buttery layers were amazing with fruit curd and crème pâtisserie! Definitely will make again!
Hi Elize! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for sharing.
I just finished this recipe and I’m very happy with the results! My dough was perfect just like you described it. Thanks!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Sylvia!
Wondering if this tart dpugh would taste good with a chocolate tart filling? Have you tried filling with other filings?
Hi Sarah! I have not, but I imagine it’s very versatile.
Hi I just wanted to ask what your tips would be if the dough is too crumbly and not forming a ball before chilling. I tried adding water and that sort of worked. What do you think? Thank you
Hi Sara! The temperature of your ingredients and how things are measured is likely the culprit. You’ll want softened butter that’s not cold, but not warm. Watch my tutorial on How to measure ingredients to ensure you’re measuring your flour correctly. Adding too much will make this crust crumble. Adding water should help bring it together if that’s the case.
Can this tart be made gluten free
Like with almond flour
Thank you
Hello Kelly, I have not tested making this gluten free version to advise. If you do an experiment, we’d love to know how it goes!
Hi Natasha, I made this amazing tart today and it is amazing. Thank you
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Yolanda!
I found this dough very hard to work with – any body else have that issue??? Help!
Hi Marcia! I wonder if you used too much flour? This can make the dough hard to work with. I have a tutorial on how to measure ingredients. I hope that helps.
One more question. After refrigerating the raw dough for a day do I still need to freeze it for thirty minutes ?
Hi Irene, the freezing is a quick way to cool the dough. There’s no need to freeze if it has been refrigerated for a day.
Just wondering.Is it
Possible to overwork the dough when you’re mixing or patting the crust into the tart pan?Should one worry about that?
Hi Irene, this is more forgiving than say a pie crust, but you don’t want to overwork this crust either – the less you handle it the better, especially if you have very warm hands.
I’m looking forward to make this for my mother in law’s birthday. My question is Can I make this crust ahead of time? How do I store it?
Hi Shideh, it can be. Please see the section in the recipe titled: “Make-Ahead Tart Crust” I hope that helps.
Step 1 of your instructions – you might want to chamge it to “stand mixer” instead of stand mixture
Thank you so much for pointing that out. Fixed!
Made your pastry cream and that came out great. I have to make a tart in stages- and I need to shop for a tart pan! I’d like to get the dough done, its says you can refrigerate the dough, but should I let it come to room temp before putting in it the pan and proceeding?
Hi Nancy! I’m glad to hear that. You can refrigerate or freeze the dough. To thaw, you’ll want to leave it in the refrigerator overnight before using then let it sit at room temperature just until it’s softened and malleable enough to press into the tart pan. This also applies to the dough that’s been refrigerated and not frozen. You just want to let it sit out long enough that it’s easy enough to work with and shape. I hope that helps!
Why does it have to be mixed using a paddle attachment? I have a very old stand mixer with the normal beaters. I don’t know what difference (if any) that it will make when it comes to mixing the dough together. Can I use my regular beaters? Thank you.
Hi Kelly! Yes, you can use regular beaters too. I prefer the paddle attachment because the way it’s designed helps for cutting butter into dough for light and flaky pastries like pie crusts.