"Alex Rast" > wrote in message
...
> Fairly soon I'll be making some custard tartlets for a party. They'll
> simply be a firm vanilla custard inside some sort of tart shell. I've made
> these before using a shortbread dough as the crust, and these were well
> received, but I've been wondering if that's the best choice or not. Of the
> following, which do you think would work best?
>
> Butter-based pie dough
> Sweet pastry dough - more or less a sugary pie dough
> Shortbread
> Puff Pastry
>
> Thanks for your opinions.

I vote for the shortbread or the pate sucre. You might consider enhancing
the pastry with some subtle flavor like nutmeg, lemon zest, or finely ground
nuts. Another choice would be layers of buttered phillo. I think the crisp
texture of the phillo would be a good contrast to the creamy custard. The
puff pastry would be the wrong texture and too bland, in my opinion. The
pate brisee would also be sort of bland and too conventional