Tart shell

Press the pastry firmly into the tin’s corners, trim it with a little overhang and chill it for 30 minutes. Line it with baking paper and baking beans, then bake at 180°C fan (200°C conventional) for about 15 minutes; remove the beans and paper and bake for another 5–10 minutes.

Blind bake it until the base is dry and lightly golden. For a particularly wet filling, brush the hot pastry with beaten egg and return it to the oven for 2 minutes to seal the surface.

Yes, if it’s an unsweetened pastry shell. Blind bake it first, then add the quiche filling; a sweet shell can make a savoury quiche taste oddly sugary.

For sweet tarts, try lemon curd, frangipane and jam for a Bakewell-style tart, or treacle filling. An unsweetened shell works well for quiche, such as one with cheese and onion.

Once completely cool, keep a baked, unfilled shell in an airtight container at room temperature and use it within 2 days. Refrigerate a shell with a perishable filling, such as custard or quiche.

Yes. Cool it completely, wrap it well and freeze it unfilled. Thaw at room temperature, then crisp it in a 160°C oven for about 5 minutes before adding the filling.

A pastry flan case is essentially a pastry shell, but a UK recipe or shop may also mean a sponge flan case. Check that it’s pastry if you need a crisp base for a tart or quiche.

Use sweet shortcrust for fruit tarts, lemon tart or Bakewell tart, and plain, unsweetened shortcrust for quiche and savoury tarts. Sweet pastry can also brown quickly, so keep an eye on it while baking.