Pâte Sucrée

1. Whisk together egg yolks, cream, and vanilla in a small bowl until thoroughly combined; set aside. Process flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor until combined, about 3 seconds.

2. Add butter and pulse until a coarse meal forms, about 12 pulses. Add egg mixture and pulse until mixture starts to clump together, 10 to 12 pulses. Dough will be crumbly but should hold together when squeezed.

3. Transfer dough to a clean work surface, and press into a single mass. Divide dough evenly into 2 portions. Pat each half into a 1-inch-thick disk. Tightly wrap each dough disk in plastic wrap. Chill dough until firm, at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

4. Place 1 dough disk on a lightly floured work surface. Let dough sit at room temperature 10 minutes to soften. Lightly grease removable bottom only of a 9 1/2-inch tart pan with butter. Roll dough to a 13-inch circle, dusting dough with flour as needed to prevent sticking. Brush off excess flour from dough.

5. Carefully roll dough around rolling pin, then unroll over the prepared pan. Press dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan, trimming any excess dough.

6. Alternatively, press dough into pan without rolling. Patch any cracks with excess dough.

7. Prick crust all over with a fork. Chill, loosely covered with plastic wrap, 1 hour.

8. While tart shell chills, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

9. Line crust with parchment and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake in the preheated oven until crust is golden around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.

10. Remove weights and parchment. Return to the oven and continue to bake until the bottom of crust is golden brown and looks dry, 10 to 15 minutes.

11. Transfer tart shell to a wire rack and let cool completely, about 40 minutes.

Cook's Note:

This dough is hard to roll out and wants to crack, but you can easily patch up any cracks with dough trim - you won't see the patches once filled.