Sable Breton Tart Shell

Oct 13, 2026 · By VanillaGoods

Baking Pies tarts Vanilla: Extract Medium

A baked, empty sable breton tart shell in a fluted tart pan on a marble counter, golden and crisp

A rich, sandy Breton shortbread shell with salted butter and extra yolks, pressed rather than rolled. Best under fruit and cream fillings.

Prep 20 min

Cook 28 min

Cooling 1 hr

Total 1 hr 48 min

Yield 8 slices

Diet —

Ingredients

Adjust yield

slices

1 ¼ cups (160.0 g)all-purpose flour
½ cup (100.0 g)granulated sugar
½ tsp (2.0 g)baking powder
½ tsp (2.0 g)flaky salt
½ cup (113.0 g)salted butter, softened
3.0 (54.0 g)large egg yolks
1.0 tsp (5.0 ml)pure vanilla extract

Baking tools for this recipe

Convert to grams Scale it Change the pan

Dessert Builder

Build a dessert on this recipe

Pick a filling, a frosting and a finish from our tested recipes and get one complete recipe, scaled and with a shopping list.

Build a pie with it

Instructions

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat the butter until creamy, beat in the yolks and vanilla, then stir in the flour until a soft dough forms.
Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan. Chill 1 hour.
Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Bake 25 to 28 minutes until deep golden; the shell puffs then settles. Press the base flat with a spoon if needed and cool in the pan.

Tips

This dough is soft; press it with floured fingertips rather than rolling.
Underbaked sable is pale and crumbly; take it to a true golden brown.

Made this?

Log it to keep your bakes, ratings and notes together in My Kitchen.

Be the first to share one.

Recipe FAQ

How long does it take to make sable breton tart shell?

Plan on 20 minutes of prep and 28 minutes of cooking, plus 1 hour to chill. The recipe makes one 9-inch tart shell.

How should I store sable breton tart shell?

The baked shell keeps 2 days at room temperature in an airtight container; raw dough freezes 2 months.

Can I make sable breton tart shell ahead?

Bake the shell a day ahead; fill it the day you serve.

Can I use a different form of vanilla?

Yes. This recipe uses 1 tsp pure vanilla extract (5 ml). Each teaspoon of pure vanilla extract can be swapped for 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste, the seeds of half a vanilla bean, or 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla powder. Paste and seeds add the classic dark specks.

A rich, sandy Breton shortbread shell with salted butter and extra yolks, pressed rather than rolled. Best under fruit and cream fillings.

Estimated · per serving

Nutrition

Per serving = 1 of 8 servings this recipe makes.

246 Calories / serving

13.5g Fat

28.0g Carbs

3.2g Protein

12.7g Sugar

Whole recipe (8 servings): ~1968 cal · 108g fat · 224g carbs · 26g protein · 102g sugar

Estimated values per serving, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not verified Nutrition Facts; actual values vary with brands, measurements, and preparation.