With just a touch of sugar, this tender crust cradles the pastry cream and glazed-pear filling especially well.
Dough can be chilled up to 2 days.
Recipe information
Total Time
1 1/4 hr
Yield
Makes enough for 1 single-crust pie or tart
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Stir together flour, sugar, and salt, then blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Stir together egg yolk and 1 1/2 tablespoons water and drizzle evenly over butter mixture. Gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated.
Step 2
Squeeze a small handful of dough: If it doesn't hold together, add remaining 1/2 tablespoon ice water, stirring (or pulsing) until incorporated. (Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.)
Step 3
Turn out dough onto a work surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat.
Step 4
Gather all dough into a ball, with a pastry scraper if you have one, then flatten into a disk. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, about 1 hour.
