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Pasta Frolla (Italian Sweet Shortcrust Pastry)
Pasta Frolla: The Heart of Italian Home Baking
There’s a kind of magic in the way Italian grandmothers bake. No fancy tools. No strict measurements. Just hands, memory, and love. Pasta frolla Italy’s classic sweet shortcrust pastry is exactly that kind of magic.
Made from the simplest ingredients, flour, butter, sugar, and eggs, Pasta Frolla is buttery, tender, and just sweet enough to wrap around whatever fruit, cream, or custard you’re dreaming of. It’s the base of so many beloved desserts, from rustic jam tarts to elegant holiday pies.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Chill Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings: 2 10" crust
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups All-purpose flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ¾ cup Unsalted butter (cold, cubed)
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • 2 large egg yolks at room temperature
  • ⅛ tsp pinch of salt
  • Zest of 1 lemon (optional)
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract (optional)

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer

Instructions
 

Cream butter & sugar:
  1. In a mixer or food processor, cream the cold butter and sugar until smooth but not fluffy.
Add yolks, whole egg, flavorings:
  1. Mix in the egg yolk, whole egg, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt until just combined.
Add flour:
  1. Add all the flour at once and mix until the dough just comes together. Do not overmix.
Divide:
  1. Divide dough into 2 equal portions (about 475–500 g each). Flatten into disks, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 1 hour.
Roll out:
  1. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to about 3–4 mm thickness (~⅛ inch).
  2. Fit into 10” tart pan, trimming excess. Dock base with a fork.
Chill again:
  1. Chill lined pans for 20–30 min to prevent shrinkage during baking.
Blind bake:
  1. Preheat oven to 175°C / 350°F.
  2. Line shells with parchment and fill with pie weights or dry beans.
  3. Bake 15 minutes, remove weights, bake 5 more minutes until light golden.
Cool:
  1. Let crusts cool completely on a wire rack before filling.

Notes

Cold butter is key: It keeps the dough crumbly and tender. If the butter softens too much while mixing, pop the bowl in the fridge for 10 minutes before proceeding.
Don’t overmix once the flour is added overworking the gluten makes the crust tough. The dough should look slightly crumbly but hold together when pressed. If it's too dry, add ½ tsp cold milk or water at a time until it binds.
Chill the dough before and after rolling. This reduces shrinkage during baking, improves flakiness and makes rolling easier (30 minutes in the freezer or 1 hour in the fridge)
Blind baking is essential for filled tarts or wet fillings (e.g., pastry cream, lemon curd).
For fully baked shells, bake until the bottom is golden and crisp, not just pale beige. This usually means 18–22 minutes total. If baking with filling, partial blind baking (10–12 min) may be enough depending on the filling moisture and baking time.