How to Make Tartlet Shells (Vegan)

Recipe

How to Make Tartlet Shells (Vegan)

5 from 3 votes

Learn how to make perfect tartlet shells from scratch! These tartlets are made with a buttery and sweet shortcrust pastry (pâte sablée) and can be used to prepare fruit tarts, chocolate tarts, or any entremet!

Prep Time : 20

Cook Time : 25

Resting Time : 2 20

Total Time : 3 5

Servings 8 3-inch tartlet shells

Calories 221 kcal

Equipment

3-inch Perforated Tart Rings

Ingredients

Instructions

Prepare the dough

Whisk the dry ingredients together. Add the flour, cornstarch, almond flour, powdered sugar, and salt to a mixing bowl or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Whisk until combined.
Sand the dough. Add the diced cold butter and cut it into the dry ingredients until it forms a fine sandy texture.
Form a dough. Once the texture resembles sand, add the cold milk (and vanilla extract if using) and knead until it forms a dough. Do not over-knead and stop as soon as the dough comes together.

Flatten the dough

Transfer to a working surface. Transfer the dough to a sheet of parchment paper and top with another layer of parchment paper. The dough is sticky and will stick to the rolling pin if you don't sandwich it between parchment papers.
Flatten. Flatten the dough to a ⅛-inch thickness (about 4mm) using a rolling pin. The thickness is up to you and will affect the baking time.
Refrigerate. Once the dough is flattened, transfer it to a baking sheet and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour, preferably 2 hours. You can also leave it overnight in the refrigerator if you plan on baking it the next day.

Shape the tartlets

Grease tart rings. Lightly grease 3-inch (8cm) perforated tart rings with butter. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Cut out circles. Using one of the tart rings, cut out 8 circles of dough. Using a thin spatula, transfer the circles into each tart ring.
Cut strips. Using a sharp knife, slice strips about 10 inches (25cm) long and 1 inch (2.5cm) thick. These strips will make the sides of each tartlet.
Press them together. Working with one at a time, transfer a strip of dough to one of the tart rings and press it to the sides. Use your fingers to slightly push the bottom of the sides to the dough circle (to seal it). Repeat with the remaining strips of dough.
Freeze. Transfer the baking sheet containing the tartlet shells to the freezer and freeze for at least 20 minutes.

Bake

Preheat the oven to 320 °F (160°C).
Trim the sides and poke the bottom. Using a sharp knife, trim the top of the sides. Poke several holes into the bottom of each tartlet using a fork. This will prevent the dough from puffing up.
Bake. Bake the shells for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown in the preheated oven.
Remove from the rings. Next, using an oven mitt, carefully remove each tartlet from the tart rings. Place the tartlet shells back on the baking sheet.
Finish baking. Finally, bake the tartlets for another 5 minutes or until evenly golden brown. Be aware that baking time will differ depending on the thickness of your dough and the type/brand of oven used.
Let cool completely before using the tartlet shells to make chocolate tarts, fruit tarts, or other desserts. Tartlet shells will keep for up to 7 days stored in a metal box at room temperature.

Notes

Use tart rings or mini tart pans. You can use tart rings, tartlet pans, muffin pans, or fluted metal pans. If using pans, you do not need to cut out circles and sides separately. Simply cut out a larger circle and press it into the bottom and sides of each tart pan.
Refrigerate the dough if it gets too soft. Since the dough contains a considerable amount of butter, it quickly gets soft at room temperature. If the dough gets too soft and hard to work with, put it back in the freezer for 10 mins.
Handle gently. As with any shortcrust pastry, these shells are fragile, so handle them carefully.
Trim after chilling in the freezer. Do not trim the tartlet shells before the freezing step. They would shrink slightly, and the sides would be shorter after baking.
Make deep holes. While poking holes, make sure you are poking the dough all the way through.
Do not substitute potato starch for the cornstarch. The crust would be more crumbly and harder to handle.
Serve on the same day. If filling the tartlet shells with pastry cream, serve on the same day. After one day in the refrigerator, they will become soggy.
Store in an airtight container. You can store tartlet shells for up to one week in a metal box or an airtight container.

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