I think this must be the easiest tart shell recipe and I'm devoting a separate post to it so I can refer to it in the future; I know I'll be using this recipe again and again. You don't have to roll out the dough and there's no need to use pie weights. Does it sound too good to be true? I thought so too but sure enough, it worked just like it should and the result is a delicious, crunchy, shortbread cookie-like tart crust.
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| I love the fluted edges around a tart shell. The crust releases beautifully using a tart pan with a removeable bottom. |
I've raved about David Lebovitz's book, Ready for Dessert; My Best Recipes, in the past and this is another recipe from the book. I think this cookbook might be my best investment yet.
The dough for the tart literally comes together in about three minutes. The tart dough may also be referred to as pate sucree for sweet dough in French because that's just what it is, a sweet and buttery dough. Because you can simply press the dough into the tart pan with your hands, there's no mess with a rolling pin and flour on your countertop. The dough gets frozen for at least an hour and because it's frozen, you do not need to weigh it down with pie weights when baking. Genius!
Baked for about 20-25 minutes until it turns a dark golden brown color, the crust did not shrink (a common problem I've read about) and is crisp and sweet with a shortbread cookie taste. This tart shell can be used as the foundation for many desserts.
