Chocolate Pâte Sucrée: Rich Sweet Tart Crust Recipe

Sweet tart crust, also called pâté sucrée or sweet shortcrust pastry, is a tender, cookie‑like dough that bakes to a delicate, crisp shell. This chocolate variation adds dutch‑processed cocoa powder for a deeper color and richer chocolate flavor. It works beautifully filled with curds, creams, ganaches, or whipped fillings.

Chocolate Sweet Tart Crust

To make this sweet tart dough, cream room‑temperature butter with granulated sugar and a pinch of salt, add an egg, then fold in flour and dutch‑processed cocoa powder. The creaming method yields a texture similar to a crisp shortbread cookie: pliable, easy to roll, and forgiving to work with.

This recipe is written for an 8″ or 9″ tart pan with a removable bottom, which makes unmolding much easier. If you don’t have a tart pan, you can use a pie dish instead.

Ingredients

• Unsalted butter — at room temperature.
• Granulated sugar.
• Kosher salt.
• 1 large egg — room temperature.
• All‑purpose flour.
• Dutch‑processed cocoa powder — for a darker, richer chocolate flavor and color.

Tools

• Stand mixer or hand mixer — use the paddle attachment for a stand mixer; with a hand mixer, avoid overmixing.
• 8″ or 9″ tart pan with removable bottom (or a pie dish).
• Rolling pin.
• Paring knife — for trimming edges.
• Pie weights (or dried rice/beans) and parchment paper for blind baking.

Start by creaming the room‑temperature butter with sugar and a small amount of salt in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer) until smooth, scraping down the bowl once. Add the egg and mix just until incorporated, then scrape the bowl again.

Whisk the flour and cocoa powder together in a separate bowl, then add them to the butter mixture and mix on low until just combined. The dough will be soft and pliable.

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Transfer the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap, shape it into a 1″ thick disk, wrap tightly, and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Chilling hydrates the flour and firms the butter, which helps prevent shrinking and makes the dough easier to roll.

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Prepping the dough

After chilling, let the dough sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes so it relaxes slightly — this reduces cracking while rolling. Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin, then roll the dough, turning it a quarter turn every few rolls to keep it circular. If it sticks, dust with a bit more flour.

Roll until the dough is about 2 inches wider than your tart pan and about 1/8″–1/4″ thick. Small cracks at the edges are fine; you can patch them once the dough is in the pan.

Hot tip! Pâte Sucrée Cookies

Leftover scraps can be pressed together, rolled out again, and cut into cookies. Bake on a parchment‑lined sheet at 325°F (163°C) for about 10 minutes. They’re delicious plain or decorated.

Transferring the dough to the pan

Roll the dough onto the rolling pin, then unfurl it over the tart pan. Gently ease it into the corners and bottom, pressing with your fingers. Fold the excess over the pan edge and roll a rolling pin across the top to trim the surplus. Save the trimmings for cookies or to patch any thin spots.

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Freeze the prepared tart shell for 15 minutes and preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C). Dock the bottom and sides with a fork to prevent large air pockets.

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Prepping and Baking

Crumple a sheet of parchment, open it inside the shell, and fill the shell completely with pie weights (or dried rice/beans). Press the weights into the corners and sides so they support the shell evenly. Fold the parchment edges over the weights to keep clean, straight edges.

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Bake the shell for 10–15 minutes, then carefully lift out the parchment and weights and set them aside to cool. At this stage the center may still look slightly wet while the edges are set — this is called par‑baking and is suitable if you’ll finish baking the filled tart. For a fully blind‑baked shell, continue to bake without the weights for another 10–15 minutes until the center is dry and the shell is set and lightly golden.

Par baking

Par‑baking produces a shell with set edges and a moist center; it’s ideal when the filling requires further baking. If you need a completely dry shell for a no‑bake filling, finish baking until the center is dry.

Blind baking

Blind baking means baking the shell until it is completely dry and set with no wet spots. Watch the underside; if it puffs, prick it gently with a fork or small knife to release steam. Cool the shell on a wire rack.

If the top edge becomes uneven after baking, use a microplane or small knife to even it before filling.

How to remove the tart from the tart pan

To unmold, place a short glass upside down on a plate, invert the tart onto it, and gently press down on the tart ring so it slips off. Use a thin knife to loosen any stuck areas, then slide the tart off the pan base onto your serving plate.

For a quick demonstration, watch the video embedded below showing how to fully remove a tart from its pan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Tart recipes

• Sweet Tart Crust (Pâté Sucrée)
• Cinnamon Panna Cotta Tart
• Peppermint Patty Tartlets

📖Recipe