A recipe for an easy-to-handle pastry because there are no eggs. Not as rich as some, but a sweet tart filling almost always has plenty of eggs and I find it best to have a nice crumbly crust that isn’t too hard to roll out and transfer to the pan. This includes instructions for blind baking.
200 g plain flour
2 tsp fine/caster sugar
100 g cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Pinch of salt
Put all of the ingredients in a food processor and, using the pulse button, process until the butter just breaks down.
A 3 tablespoons cold water and pulse again until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. You may need to add 1 more tbsp water if the mixture is very crumbly.
Put a large sheet of baking parchment on the work surface and tip the pastry mixture onto it. Gather it all up and form into a ball, then flatten to a thick disc. Wrap well in the paper and let stand for 30-60 minutes. If it is very warm, you may need to refrigerate a bit.
Butter your tart pan.
Roll the pastry out to a circle that is just bigger than your tart pan, enough so it fits comfortably up the sides and transfer the pastry to the pan. Tidy up the bottom so it fits snugly against the sides and well up to the edges. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
To Blind bake: Preheat the oven to 180C.
Remove the tart base from the refrigerator and prick the bottom with the tins of a fork. Line with parchment and fill with baking weights (or use uncooked rice or beans) and bake for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, remove the paper and weights and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until the bottom is lightly golden.
Let cool before filling and baking your tart.
