# Help with my Tart Shell



## Lynsay (Apr 2, 2018)

Hi everyone. First time here. Yesterday I made a raspberry lemon tart. The crust is crumbling and falling apart and sticking to the pan, so it looks like a crumble when I serve it. Sad. Any ideas why this happened? 

I’ll try to add a picture of the recipe. The only thing I did differently was use a glass pie dish rather than a tart pan, because that’s what I had.


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## Lynsay (Apr 2, 2018)

Recipe:

1 cup flour 
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest 
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

In a medium bowl, stir together at the flour, sugar, salt, and lemon zest, if using. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips, pressing and blending, until the butter looks granular and the mixture begins to hold together. Combine 1 tablespoon water and the vanilla and work it into the flour and butter mixture with a fork until the ingredients are well combined and the pastry will hold together when pressed. Gather it into a ball and wrap it in plastic.

Let the dough rest for 30 minutes to allow the flower to absorb the moisture. Then, use your fingertips to press the pastry into the bottom and sides of a 9 inch tart pan, making sure it is distributed evenly. Cover and place the tart shell in the freezer for 30 minutes to firm.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the tart shell from the freezer and bake until light golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool to room temperature on a wire rack before filling.

(Credit: Williams Sonoma Bride and Groom Cookbook, Raspberry Lemon Tart)


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## sgmchef (Sep 30, 2006)

Hi lynsay,

I also look forward to having a Pastry Chef chime in on this! (Always loved Pastry Chefs... I was chef that could bake, etc. but Pastry Chefs... Gee I love their work!)

My guess, not enough rest.

When you find a Shortbread cookie recipe you really like, use that recipe.


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## Beltway Chef (Mar 14, 2018)

A couple things you might want to do differently is putting the ingredients into a food processor, and make sure you're using cold butter to start with. Also I would roll the dough out before you put it into the dish.


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## jonathanchuang1 (Mar 12, 2016)

Lynsay said:


> Hi everyone. First time here. Yesterday I made a raspberry lemon tart. The crust is crumbling and falling apart and sticking to the pan, so it looks like a crumble when I serve it. Sad. Any ideas why this happened?
> 
> I'll try to add a picture of the recipe. The only thing I did differently was use a glass pie dish rather than a tart pan, because that's what I had.


Hello Lynsay,
You might want to try buttering or lightly applying oil to the pie dish before pressing the dough into it. It will prevent it from sticking, and your tart shell will slide right out when cooled. Also, you can maybe roll out the tart dough into a flat, thin sheet and just lightly placing it into the pie dish. Make sure your tart dough is properly chilled or it won't work. Press to have it stick to the sides, and trim off the excess. 
Hope it helps and please let me know how it works.


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

Lynsay said:


> Yesterday I made a raspberry lemon tart. The crust is crumbling and falling apart and sticking to the pan, so it looks like a crumble when I serve it. Sad. Any ideas why this happened?


Lindsay, do a search using my name as the search key. I've made lots of posts concerning tart shells using pate brisee. They may or may not have the information you're looking for.


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## chrislehrer (Oct 9, 2008)

Did you chill the tart tin again after lining it? With the press-in method, you can very easily get too much warmth in the metal, causing stickage. But I'd definitely roll it out in future.


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

chrislehrer said:


> Did you chill the tart tin again after lining it? With the press-in method, you can very easily get too much warmth in the metal, causing stickage. .......


Upper case is added for emphasis and I am not shouting.
I never "press in" the dough into my tart shell. Rather, I gently fold the rolled out dough in half and gently unfold/roll the dough into the shell and corner without stretching/pressing the dough. Or, I wrap the dough around my rolling pin and unroll the dough into the tin and then gently guide it into the corners. DO NOT PRESS. And I never bother chilling the tart tin as my dough is already chilled.


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

@Lynsay: Do a search on threads in my name. For crusts I really like Ruhlman's RATIO for getting started on things. That book put me into the ballpark and beyond.


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## harpua (May 4, 2005)

Use cold, semi frozen dough, cut it in to other ingredients until pea sized, add the cold liquid, mix until it just sticks together. Wrap plastic over it a s then press it into a disk while it's in the plastic. Chill it, the roll it out. Freeze it, then bake it from frozen.


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

Where is the liquid for the dough. No ice water? That's probably your issue.


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## chefjoeyprats (Jul 18, 2011)

Lynsay said:


> Hi everyone. First time here. Yesterday I made a raspberry lemon tart. The crust is crumbling and falling apart and sticking to the pan, so it looks like a crumble when I serve it. Sad. Any ideas why this happened?
> 
> I'll try to add a picture of the recipe. The only thing I did differently was use a glass pie dish rather than a tart pan, because that's what I had.


Hello! Try my recipe for tart crust. I developed it to be foolproof. See attached file.


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