My grandma was a champion of tarts, and this classic tart was her signature dish, always with a different jam, but the shortcrust base was always made with the same foolproof recipe! Let’s face it, a nice classic tart is always a good idea, for breakfast, as a snack, and even at the end of a meal! This tart with grandma’s recipe is foolproof, and you can also use the shortcrust pastry to make delicious cookies. Compared to my grandma, I only changed the decoration; she made the classic strips (which I can never make straight!) while I decorated with some cookie cutters! At the end of the classic recipe, you’ll find a bonus for 2 different fillings and decorations!
If you love desserts with shortcrust pastry, also try:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 6
- Cooking methods: Electric Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients for Grandma’s Classic Tart
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 9 tbsp butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup sour cherry jam
Useful Tools
- Stand Mixer
- Kitchen Scale
- Bowl
- Knife
- Plastic Wrap
- Tart Pan
- Pastry Board
- Rolling Pin
- Spoon
- Cookie Cutter
Preparing the Shortcrust Pastry for the Classic Tart
In the bowl of the stand mixer, add the butter at room temperature and in small pieces along with the flour, attach the paddle attachment, and work at speed 2 for 2 minutes, then turn off.
Add the egg, the yolk, and the powdered sugar to the stand mixer bowl, turn on the mixer again at speed 2 and let it run for 3 minutes, then transfer the dough to a lightly floured pastry board.
Knead the pastry until you get a homogeneous ball (it will take 1 minute), wrap it in plastic wrap, and place it in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
After resting in the fridge, roll out the pastry on a floured pastry board to a thickness of 3/4 millimeters, line the tart pan, and cut off the excess (which you’ll use to make decorations), fill the pastry shell with the jam, leveling it.
Knead the scraps and roll them out again with the rolling pin, use cookie cutters (the ones with a plunger) to cut out many little flowers and use them to cover and decorate the tart.
Preheat the oven to 392°F (200°C), and when it is hot, bake the tart, cook for 35 minutes (always checking the cooking as every oven is different), and once cooked, remove the classic tart from the oven, let it cool before removing it from the pan, and serve it! Enjoy with grandma’s recipe!
Instead of sour cherry jam, you can use apricot jam and add almond flakes, then decorate either with the little flowers or cover the tart as if it were a sweet quiche; below are examples of the variations!
TART WITH APRICOT JAM AND ALMOND FLAKES
TART WITH APRICOT JAM, ALMOND FLAKES, QUICHE-STYLE COVER
Tips
If during baking, you see that the pastry is darkening too much, cover it with a sheet of parchment paper to finish the baking!
If you like, you can flavor the pastry with grated untreated lemon zest.
