This is a recipe for individual sweet tartlet shells made with pâte sucrée, the classic pastry used by French pâtisseries for tarts. It’s the go-to crust for sweet tarts — crisper, more delicate, and easier to work with than regular shortcrust. It’s also the shell used for JB’s Raspberry Tartlets.
This tartlet shell recipe was originally planned as part of the Raspberry Tartlets post, but the combined recipe was getting very lengthy. It’s also the first individual tart recipe on this site — but it certainly won’t be the last. Publishing the tartlet shell separately makes it easy to use as a base for any filling you choose.
These individual tart crusts are made with pâte sucrée — the classic French sweet pastry used for fruit tarts and other pâtisserie-style desserts. It works equally well for large sharing tarts — like JB’s Pistachio Pear Tart — and small single-serve tartlets. And if you don’t have individual tartlet tins, you can make mini ones in a muffin tin.
The dough is buttery, crisp, and delicate, yet surprisingly easy to work with. It’s more pliable than shortcrust, which is more prone to breaking. The finished shell has a more luxurious, finer, crisper texture that doesn’t crumble apart into powder with every bite, making it more practical to eat as well.
It’s the perfect base for all sorts of sweet tartlets — from fresh fruit tarts with custard to chocolate ganache, lemon curd, and more.
Ingredients in Sweet Tartlet Shells
Here’s what you need to make these tartlet shells. Almond meal and icing sugar are the key ingredients that set pâte sucrée apart from regular shortcrust, giving it a more delicate texture and a buttery, pâtisserie-style finish. Egg is what makes the dough much easier to work with — more pliable and less prone to breaking.
