What is Sweet French Pastry or pâte sablée

From the French pâte meaning dough and sabler, meaning “to sand,” pâte sablée has a buttery-sweet melt-in-the-mouth texture. This delicious sweet pastry dough is a common in French pastries, and can also be referred to as 'sand' pastry.

Pâte sablée dough is made by creaming butter, powdered sugar, and egg together before combining the dry ingredients. It's one of the easiest pastry recipes I use, and most definitely one you should keep!

What is French Fruit Tart made of?

This fruit tart is made up of 5 separate elements. Don't be overwhelmed by all of them! Some of the elements take just minutes to make, and the longest time for this recipe is chilling the dough.

1. The tart shell
2. Fruit jam
3. Pastry cream
4. Fresh fruit
5. Clear glaze (nappage)

1. The pastry

You need to chill it twice, first when you've made the dough, and second when you've rolled it out and put it in the tart case. 20 minutes each time. It's important not to skip the chill times stated because this is what will give you the most amazing tart shell, and when it's baking, you won't get any shrinkage.

I always make the tart shell and pastry cream the day before. Simple because everything needs to be cold when you come to assemble the tart.

The pastry shell will keep in an air-tight container for at least 1 week and still be crisp. I will usually make 2 tart shells and keep one for another time. So I know it's still perfect after 1 week. Any longer and I can't say.

2. Fruit jam

We've used a strawberry jelly. This is brushed over the cooked tart shell before adding the pastry cream to give it a seal and keep the base from going soggy. Try and use a smooth or jelly type jam as you don't want chunks of jam fruit in the tart.

3. The pastry cream

The pastry cream (Creme Patissiere) is made up of egg yolks, milk, a thickening agent, and vanilla. It's a luxurious, creamy mixture that sits inside the tart case and will be what the fruit ultimately is arranged on. It's delicious!

The trick to a silky smooth pastry cream is to make sure you stir whilst on the heat, and don't stop stirring until it's thickened! Pass it through a sieve afterward to make sure it's as smooth as can be and the addition of butter when it's cooled for 5 minutes will give it an absolutely wonderful shine and added richness.

4. Fresh fruit

You can be as creative as you like here! As you can see, we've gone for strawberries, kiwi fruit, blackberries, blueberries and mandarins. You can go tropical and add pineapple, bananas, oranges etc.

As it's summer time, we've used really lovely sweet juicy berries and the colors are beautiful! Be as creative as you like.

5. The glaze

The glaze is made up of a vegan powder known as arrowroot. You can usually buy it in sachets in the baking section. It's a plant-based thickening agent and is tasteless and colorless.

So when making a glaze such as this, you just want it to give a beautiful shine and also coat the fruits to keep them fresh and vibrant.

When the glaze sets in the fridge (takes just a few minutes), it has a texture like fine jelly. It's a very thin layer to coat the top.

You can leave it out, but I do think it looks stunning and makes a difference the to end result. We've mixed the arrowroot with some cranberry juice to give it a translucent red color. You can use apple juice, or orange juice if you prefer.

Ingredients

For the vanilla sablé tart shell:

Total Time To Make: 10 minutes plus 40 minutes chilling plus 25 minutes baking

80 grams (1⁄2 cup + 2 tablespoons) confectioners’ sugar
130 grams (9 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
190 grams (1 1⁄2 cups) all-purpose flour
50 grams (1⁄3 cup + 1 tablespoons) cornstarch
1⁄2 teaspoon salt

The base

2 tablespoons Strawberry jelly

Creme Patissiere (pastry cream)

Total Time to make: 10 minutes

8 egg yolks
120g (⅔ cup) regular sugar
6 & ½ tablespoons all purpose plain flour
4 tsp cornflour
560 ml(19 fl oz) milk
200g (7 oz) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

The Fresh Fruit Topping

1 lb of fresh mixed berries

The Glaze

Ground Arrowroot Sachet (1 tbsp)
225 ml (8 fl oz) Cranberry Juice

Equipment

10 inch perforated tart pan (with a loose bottom)
Parchment paper
Plastic Wrap
Bowl and whisk
Saucepan

1. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the confectioners’ sugar and butter for 30 seconds on low speed.

2. Add the egg, and mix on medium speed until evenly combined.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add to the mixer on low speed, and combine until there are no more dry patches.

4. Finish mixing the dough by hand to ensure it is not over-mixed.

The dough should be smooth and have the consistency of cookie dough.

5. Transfer the dough to a sheet of parchment paper on your work surface and sandwich it with another sheet of parchment paper, flattening it into a 1-inch thick disk.

6. Transfer the dough disk to a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, around 20 minutes.

7. Generously dust flour on the work surface and rub onto a rolling pin. Remove the dough from the paper and and transfer it to your work surface. Roll the dough out into a circle about 1⁄8 inch (3mm) thick.

To check you have rolled the dough large enough for your tart tin, pop it over the top of the dough to see the size

8. Using your rolling pin, carefully transfer the rolled out dough to your tart tin, being careful not to break it. Drape it over the sides and then lift the pastry gently into the tin.

9. Carefully go around the inside edging of the tin, gently pushing the dough inside. If you do happen to break or tear the pastry, use a little overhang and patch it up, making sure you don't have any cracks at all. Finally trim off any excess dough from the edge. Place in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up.

11. Bake the tart on the center rack for 20 - 25 minutes, until it’s a light golden brown.

12. When ready, remove the tart shell by placing a cup or glass underneath and carefully sliding the outside tart ring in a downwards position. if you think some of the pastry is stuck to the sides, gently loosen using a small knife.

13. Transfer to a cooling rack and remove the base of the tart tin. Allow the tart case to completely cool at room temperature.

1. Using a hand whisk, beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and slightly thickened.

2. Whisk in the flours.

3. Heat the milk in a saucepan until you see it starting to boil then remove from heat.

5. Transfer the mixture back into the pan, stirring all the time until thick and boiling.

The pastry cream will thicken and turn darker in color. You will also notice the foam/bubbles will have disappeared. Once thick, remove from the heat immediately.

6. Return the pastry cream to the mixing bowl by passing through a sieve to get any lumps out.

7. Add the butter and vanilla extract and combine.

8. Cover with plastic wrap, ensuring the wrap is directly touching the surface of the mixture to avoid a skin from forming.

1. Place the Ground Arrowroot in a small saucepan and blend with a little of the cranberry juice to make a paste.

2. Add remaining juice and gently bring to the boil,

stirring until clear and thickened.

Leave to cool for 20 minutes.

1. Place the tart shell on a cake stand or serving plate.
   Using a pastry brush, spread the jelly evenly over the base of the tart. This will act as a seal to stop the pastry cream from making the base soggy.

2. Spread the pastry cream evenly on top of the jam.

3. Arrange the fruit on top of the pastry cream. Start around the outer edge in a circular pattern and continue making circles until you reach the centre. It should look like a blooming flower.

4. Gently brush the warmed glaze over the fruits, working from the outer edge of the tart toward the centre. If your glaze has started to become too thick to brush, just pop it in the microwave for 20 seconds to loosen it and continue to brush the glaze over the fruits.