When making a pie or tart, you have to consider what kind of
crust will best complement the filling. Are
you making a fruit pie, such as an apple pie or pear pie?
Or are you making a custard-filled pie, such as a banana cream pie or chocolate pudding pie? Or even something
savory such as a chicken pot pie or quiche?
The three most common French pastry crusts are pâte brisée, Pâte Sucrée, and pâte sablée. The two
crusts I normally use are pâte brisée and pâte sucrée. Pâte brisée, the old French term for broken
paste, is a rich, flaky pastry dough.
Pâte brisée is the most versatile of the crusts and can be used in sweet
or savory recipes. I typically use pâte
brisée for apple pies, pear pies, and quiches. Pâte Sucrée, the old French term for sugar paste, is a sweet, vanilla sugar
cookie-like crust. I like to use pâte
sucrée when I make tarts and custard filled pies. Pâte sablée is a sweet almond
shortbread crust and complements pear tarts as well as fruit tarts filled with
pastry cream.