Sweet Pastry Recipe (Pâte Sucrée)

This sweet pastry recipe is one of my staple recipes, it’s the backbone of thousands of my creations. It’s super adaptable, easy and quick to make and produces a wonderfully crisp pastry that pairs well with anything!

This pastry recipe really couldn’t be easier, it literally only has 4 simple steps and can be made within minutes.

Just like it describes below, there’s really no magic trick to this recipe. The only tips I can provide is to absolutely make sure your butter is relatively soft and your water is cold. If making by hand it’s pretty difficult to overwork but don’t be afraid to add a few drops of water if it looks too dry.

This recipe is enough for one large open faced tart. Ideal for chocolate tarts, galettes, lemon tarts etc. If you plan on making a tart with a pastry top, I would multiply this recipe by 1.5. This pastry recipe is very flexible when scaled up and multiplied for more than one use. If wrapped correctly and refrigerated, this dough can retain freshness for up to 5 days so I always make a point to make 2 or 3 times the recipe to have on hand if I’m planning on making other things that week.

So how do I make this Sweet Pastry from scratch?

To make this pastry recipe begin by beating together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add in the egg yolks and continue beating until incorporated. Add the flour and water at the same time and continue mixing until just barely combined. Mix until the flour has just disappeared. Over mixing can lead to a tough pastry so be careful. Once a dough has formed, wrap tightly in cling film and place into the fridge to chill. Allow the pastry to chill for at least 1 hour before using.

To check out dessert recipes where you can use this sweet pastry, check out my Pastry Category, here.