Sheet Pan

Perfect Blind-baked Tart Crust

by: Elisabeth Marshall

February 5, 2017

1 Ratings

Photo by Elisabeth Marshall

Makes 9"-10" tart

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Author Notes

When we started our restaurant many, many years ago I needed to bake several tarts every day and they all needed to be blind baked before filling. I tried to produce a perfect crust by following the well-worn instructions always given in cookbooks - line the crust with parchment paper and beans or rice and bake in a 350° oven until firm, remove the parchment and beans or rice and continue to bake until lightly browned. I was never satisfied with the results. Depending on the temp of the dough and the kitchen, the results would often yield nothing better than slumped-shouldered dough patties. So after much anguish and thought, it occurred to me that the problem was one of temperature - which I could control! I came up with a fool-proof and efficient method that produces perfect blind baked crusts every. single. time. And this works with every tart and pie crust recipe I have tried - sweet or savory - in every size or shape of pan! Because the crust is frozen and then put into a hot oven the pan used must be metal.
This recipe may be doubled. —Elisabeth Marshall

What You'll Need

Ingredients

1 cup All-purpose flour
¹/₂ cup Cold butter, cut in 8 pieces
¹/₄ cup Confectioner's sugar
¹/₂ teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Directions

Place all dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to mix. Then add the butter to the flour mixture and pulse until the butter is the size of peas. Open the processor and drizzle the vanilla extract over the mixture. Pulse until the dough just comes together. Gather into a ball, press into a disk, wrap and refrigerate until firm - at least 30 minutes.
Remove dough from the refrigerator and roll out on a lightly floured surface to fit the circumference of the tart pan - or alternatively, press the dough evenly into the pan by pulling chunks off the main disk, working quickly. In either case, it is important to make the sides of the tart vertical as possible with neatly trimmed top edges and sides slightly thicker at the junction with the bottom of the tart. You can use your fingers to smooth the surface and the top edge of the tart. Freeze tart in the pan until hard - at least one hour. Meanwhile, thoroughly preheat oven to 450°.
Remove the tart pan/crust from the freezer and dock (prick with a fork) all over, including the junction of the sides with the bottom, but be sure not to pierce the dough through to the pan.
Immediately place the frozen tart shell onto a sheet pan and into the preheated oven. Bake for exactly 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and, depending on the kind of filling you've chosen, let the tart shell cool slightly or completely before filling.

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6 Reviews

Pufferfish December 4, 2020

I’ve made this about 30 times now and it comes out perfect every time. I get the best results using a 10-inch tart pan. I am kind of a cooking moron but I can follow directions, and you give great directions.

Elisabeth M. December 4, 2020

Yay! Glad to hear you are successful. I am baffled why all tart and pie blind baked crusts aren’t done this way - it never fails and it is so much easier than messing around with beans, rice, or pie weights!

Rosalind P. October 3, 2019

not so foolproof. the crust still slumps, frozen, docked. I'm the fool :-)

Elisabeth M. October 3, 2019

Oven temp is critical. Your oven must be preheated and HOT - 425-450 degrees. Do not open oven to check. Hope this solves it for you!