Image © freepik, under a Creative Commons license.This traditional jam tarts recipe is a quick and easy make – so easy in fact your kids can definitely get involved.Plus the end result is a tasty bite to serve up for tea parties, after school snacks or dessert. If you really want to impress, why not make your own jam and then use any leftover conserves to make jammy dodgers.Ingredients:These sweet teatime treats are traditionally made with shortcrust, which is what our recipe below uses. If you’re short on time then you can pick up a block with your next food shop, but do think about making your own. It seems daunting making your own pastry, especially when the ready-made kind is so freely available. But, it’s a great thing to learn to make with kids and can be used to make all manner of puddings and pies so it’s a good one to perfect.For the pastry: 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting, 125g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing, pinch of salt, one medium egg, one vanilla podFor the filling: 100g of jam or marmaladeEquipment: 12 hole tart tin, wire rack, rolling pin, round cuttersImage © azerbaijan_stockers, under a Creative Commons license.Method:1) Using chilled butter, cut into cubes and place in a bowl. Put the flour and salt in the bowl and rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips, until you have a breadcrumb mixture.2) Stir in the egg and the seeds from the vanilla pod, using a knife to combine it all. Add a tablespoon of cool water and use your hands to form one lump of dough. Try to avoid kneading the pastry, if you need you can add another tablespoon of water to help bring it together.3) Wrap the dough in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.4) Preheat the oven to 200 C/180 C fan/gas mark six. Butter your tart tin with a little bit of butter. Dust your work surface with extra flour.5) Unwrap your dough and place on the lightly floured surface. Dust your rolling pin too then roll out the pastry until it’s the depth of a £1 coin.6) Use your cutters to cut out 12 circles of pastry large enough to fill your tart tin. Press them in so they line the sides and the bottom. You can reform your pastry into a ball and re-roll if you need but try to avoid doing this too often.7) Add in two tablespoons of your chosen conserve into each pastry case.8) Bake the tarts in the oven for 15-18 minutes. They’re ready when the jam starts to bubble a little. Take out of the oven and leave in the tin for five minutes. Then carefully remove and place on the wire rack and leave to cool.Image © azerbaijan_stockers, under a Creative Commons license.Tips And Recommendations:Try not to overfill your jam tarts, as the sugar content makes it liable to burn. Keep the jam fill line below the top of the case.If time is really tight just grab a block of ready-made pastry. Roll out, cut it, fill and bake as above! A block of ready-made pasty is better than pre-rolled as you can get the right thickness.Pastry shrinks as it is cooked. To avoid this, don’t overwork your dough, don’t add too much liquid unless you really need it, always chill it and if making a large tart don’t trim the excess until it’s cooked.Image © azerbaijan_stockers, under a Creative Commons license.Alternatives:Once you’ve mastered the basic recipe for jam tarts there’s a lot of jam tart recipes you can try to mix things up. Most people reach for strawberry or raspberry jam, but marmalade, blackcurrant, apricot and lemon curd are just as delicious.How about supersize jam tarts? This is the perfect mid-week pud which can be made quickly, especially if you make your pastry in advance. Roll out your pastry and shape into a circle or rectangle. Place in a greased baking tin or form your own pastry tin by rolling up the edges to form a lip. Fill and add strips of leftover pastry to make a criss-cross effect on the top. Cook for 35-40 minutes, leave to cool then dust with icing sugar.If you’ve got a party to plan, mini jam tartlets will always go down a treat. Follow the basic recipe above, but you’ll need a mini tart tin to bake them in and smaller cutters. Cook for around 12 minutes.For a lighter bite, you can also use filo pastry for your jam tarts. Just brush the sheets with melted butter and cut into squares. Layer them in your tin, pushing each down to create a shallow tart and turning each layer slightly at an angle to the last one. Fill, and bake for 15 minutes at 180 C.Good To Know:This recipe will make 12 regular sized jam tarts.You’ll need around 20 minutes to make your pastry, 30 minutes for it to chill and then around 25 minutes to cut, fill and cook your tarts.This recipe is perfect for toddlers and kids to help make. They’ll love using the rolling pin, spooning in the filling and of course eating them once they’ve cooled down.Keep your tarts in an air-tight container and they’ll keep fresh for three days. You can also freeze them in a container or bag and defrost them within two months.
Image © freepik, under a Creative Commons license.
