Pâte brisée is one of those recipes I’ve made so many times I barely think about it anymore — the French answer to pie dough, an all-butter pastry that works just as well under a fruit tart as it does around a quiche. I’ve made a few small changes to my version over the years, the main one being salted butter instead of unsalted, which I think gives the crust a little more character. This particular batch went under a tart made with Orcas peaches, straight from the island — specifically from my Frost peach tree in the orchard, which is unbelievably generous every year. I’ve become something of a tree hugger because of it — quite literally; I give that tree an actual hug every time I visit the orchard.
The dough comes together in minutes in the food processor — flour, butter, a touch of sugar, salt, and ice water — but the real secret is patience after the fact. Let it chill for at least an hour before you roll it out. I know it’s tempting to skip that step when you’re eager to get baking, but it’s what makes the dough behave — the gluten relaxes, the butter firms back up, and suddenly it rolls out like it wants to cooperate with you. A note if you’re using this for a savory tart: leave out the sugar.
Pâte Brisée
Adapted from Martha Stewart, with salted butter in place of unsalted
Ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar (omit for savory tarts)
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
- ½ cup ice water (you likely won’t need it all)
Instructions
Pulse the flour, salt, and sugar together in a food processor to combine. Add the chilled butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal — about 8-10 seconds, small crumbly pieces throughout.
With the processor running, stream in the ice water gradually. Stop as soon as the dough starts to hold together when you press a bit between your fingers — it shouldn’t feel wet or sticky. Start with a quarter cup of water; you may not need more.
Divide the dough into two equal portions, shape each into a flat disc, and wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling — this lets the gluten relax and keeps the butter cold, which is what gives you a flaky crust.
Roll the dough out, fit it into your tart pan, and prick the bottom all over with a fork — this keeps the crust from puffing up as it bakes. Blind bake for about 25 minutes, until crisp and lightly golden. It should be sturdy enough to hold the filling but still shatter beautifully with the first bite.
Make-ahead: the dough keeps in the fridge up to a day, or in the freezer up to three months — just let it thaw overnight in the fridge before rolling.
Filling
For the filling, I took a shortcut and combined two 8-ounce containers of crème fraîche with two 8-ounce containers of mascarpone (16 ounces of each total), whisked together with a tablespoon of brown sugar for a little warmth. It’s rich and creamy, but the crème fraîche keeps it from tipping into anything too sweet, so the peaches still get to be the star. Spoon it into the blind-baked crust and let it chill for about 30 minutes before adding the peaches.
Assembly
Toss the sliced peaches in the juice of one lemon before arranging them — it keeps them from browning while you work, and adds a little brightness against the richness of the filling.
Place the slices over the filling in concentric circles or however you’d like,
I finished mine off with dabbles of an apricot preserve with a hint of cognac, but it would be fine to just leave the peaches as they are. The preserve added a bit of shine and a subtle warmth that played nicely against the fruit. For a crowning garnish I added and few lavender sprigs
encircled by mint sprigs.
The result was everything I’d hoped for — crispy, flaky crust that crumbled perfectly beneath the creamy-tart filling and the sweet peaches.
