How To Make Your Own Dessert Tart Shell Using Airfryer

April 25, 2015 The Hedgehog Knows 0 Comments A⁺ a^-

I have always been afraid of making tart shells. After all, if the tart shell is bad, the whole tart is spoilt - no matter how yummy the fillings are. I have started with store-made ones (see egg tart recipe here), but I was always wary of the preservatives and hidden bad-stuff within. Now after learning how to make my own, I will never need to buy these off-the-shelf tart shells anymore - and I can have them fresh, anytime I like!

Btw, once you have baked the tart shells, store them in a airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days. If you are not going to make tart shells right away, you can freeze the (unbaked) tart dough up to 2 months and use them as needed by defrosting it in a refrigerator over night. Just make sure you wrap it tightly and freeze.

If you are thinking of what pie to make, try my pecan pie recipe here!

Recipe

Yield: two 6" pies

Ingredients

60g plain flour

60g cake flour (if no cake flour, just ignore this and use 120g plain flour in total)
60g cold unsalted butter

20g icing sugar

1 egg yolk

Use a separator - it can do magic!

Directions

1. Preheat the airfryer at 140 degrees, 10 min.

2. Sieve the flour and sugar together.

3. Place all the ingredients, except the egg yolk, in a cold mixing bowl. Keep the ingredients in the fridge for 15 minutes.

4. Using the rubbing-in method, use the tips of your fingers to combine all the ingredients, except the egg yolk, into bread crumb form.

Tip: The key point here is to keep the batter cold. I liked using plastic gloves so as to keep my fingers clean and reduce the amount of heat transferred to the batter.

Didn't really get the breadcrumb texture today as it was a warm day and the butter melted very quickly.
But if you manage to keep this cold, you will get it.

5. Add in the egg yolk to gently knead the bread-crumb like mixture together into a big lump.

6. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions of about 100g each. Cover and place the dough in the fridge for about 30 min.

7. After 30 min, roll out one of the dough balls between two non-stick baking sheets into a crust slightly larger than the pie pan.

Tip: Use a removable baking pan, so that you can place the bottom part of the pan on the top of the dough for better measure.

8. With the dough still on the baking sheet, place it at the base of the baking pan and shape it properly. Remove the spare dough at the edges with a metal spoon. Poke the base with a fork to create some ventilation holes. The tart shell dough can now be stored in the freezer for future consumption.

9. If you are going to use the tart shell rightaway, refrigerate it for 30 min first. Then, blind-bake it in the air fryer at 160 degrees 10 min.

10. You are now ready to add your fillings using your own recipe and continue baking the tart shell together with it. If your next recipe doesn't required any further baking, continue to bake the shell at another 160 degrees for 8 - 10 min for optimal buttery aroma.