Skip to content

🛒 Shopping List — Block 47–48: Pastry — Doughs & Custards

← Back to Full Guide | Back to Quick Ref

Cold butter is the recurring hero of this entire block. European-style butter (84%+ butterfat, lower water) is worth the premium here — Plugrà, Kerrygold, Isigny Sainte-Mère, or similar. Everything else builds on that.

⚠️ Equipment Check

  • [ ] 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom — for pâte sucrée and lemon tart
  • [ ] 9-inch cast iron skillet — for tarte tatin
  • [ ] Pie dish — for apple pie (9 inch)
  • [ ] Pie weights or dried beans — for blind baking tart shells
  • [ ] Stand mixer — for choux and pastry cream whisking
  • [ ] Pastry bag + tips — for éclairs; a zip-top bag with corner cut works fine
  • [ ] Box grater — for grating frozen butter into rough puff dough
  • [ ] Rolling pin — for pie dough and puff pastry

🥚 Eggs and Dairy

  • [ ] Eggs — 2 dozen (pastry cream, quiche, tarte tatin, choux, lemon curd)
  • [ ] Unsalted butter, European-style — 3 lbs (used every session this block; buy in bulk)
  • [ ] Heavy cream — 1 quart (pastry cream, quiche, chantilly)
  • [ ] Whole milk — 1 quart (pastry cream)
  • [ ] Crème fraîche — 1 cup (tarte tatin, quiche variation)
  • [ ] Gruyère — 6 oz (quiche Lorraine)
  • [ ] Bacon lardons — 4 oz (quiche Lorraine)
  • [ ] Clotted cream — 1 jar (afternoon tea scones; specialty grocers or Whole Foods)
  • [ ] Cream cheese — 4 oz (finger sandwiches)

🍎 Produce

  • [ ] Apples — 8 Granny Smith or Golden Delicious (tarte tatin + apple pie)
  • [ ] Lemons — 10 (lemon curd; various)
  • [ ] Fresh berries — 2 cups assorted (fruit tart, lemon tart garnish)
  • [ ] Strawberries — 1 pint (tart topping)
  • [ ] Kiwi — 3 (tart decoration)
  • [ ] Cucumber — 4 (finger sandwiches)
  • [ ] Smoked salmon — 4 oz (finger sandwiches)
  • [ ] Fresh herbs — dill, chives (quiche, sandwiches)

🧂 Pantry

  • [ ] All-purpose flour — 5 lbs (all doughs)
  • [ ] Powdered sugar — 1 lb (pâte sucrée, icing, décor)
  • [ ] Granulated sugar — 2 lbs (caramel, custard, pastry cream, pie)
  • [ ] Cornstarch — 1 box (pastry cream thickener)
  • [ ] Kosher salt — Diamond Crystal
  • [ ] Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste — 2 oz
  • [ ] Pure vanilla beans — 2–3 (pastry cream; worth it)
  • [ ] Apricot jam — 1 jar (glaze for fruit tart + tarte tatin)
  • [ ] Bittersweet chocolate (65–70%) — 8 oz (éclair glaze + mille-feuille décor)
  • [ ] Lard — 4 oz (pie crust; optional but dramatically better)
  • [ ] Puff pastry, store-bought — 1–2 sheets as backup for mille-feuille