Jam Tarts

There's something so addictive about jam tarts. Crisp, sweet shortcrust pastry filled with a fruity, flavourful jam. After making jam tarts for many years, I have finally settled on the perfect recipe.

This shortcrust pastry is simple to put together and doesn't need to be weighted down when cooked. It yields a crisp, buttery, melt-in-your mouth tartlet shell for these delicious tarts. For my filling, I use a combination of jam and fresh (or frozen) raspberries for an intense fruity flavour.

Ingredients in Jam Tarts

For the Shortcrust Pastry

• Plain / all-purpose flour
• Icing sugar / powdered sugar: don't use regular granulated sugar. Icing sugar helps make the tartlet shells crisp and melt in your mouth.
• Salt: omit if using salted butter
• Unsalted butter: make sure it is very cold! This is the secret to crisp pastry.
• Egg
• Vanilla: use high-quality vanilla where possible for the best flavour.

For the Raspberry Filling

• Fresh or defrosted raspberries
• Raspberry jam: if you are going to splurge on one ingredient, m

How to Make Jam Tarts

Making raspberry jam tarts is a breeze, requiring just a handful of ingredients and minimal effort. There's two main components to get right: the pastry shell and the filling. Follow along the instructions below to perfect this delicious dessert!

Making shortcrust pastry:

1. In a food processor, blitz together the flour, sugar, salt and butter until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. All the ingredients should be well incorporated together with no lumps of butter.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and blitz for a couple of seconds at a time, until the dough just starts to pull together.
3. Turn the dough out onto a surface and gently knead it together. Roll out flat and cut out circles.

Make the jam filling:

1. Mash together the fresh or frozen raspberries and the raspberry jam until smooth. If your jam is clumpy or very thick, you can microwave it for 10 seconds to loosen.

Assemble the tartlets:

1. Grease a mini tart pan and press the pastry circles carefully into the pan. Top with a spoonful of jam - don't overfill! The jam will bubble up while cooking.
2. Bake until the jam has set and the pastry is golden around the edges. Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan.

Storage

You can keep tarts un-refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 7 days.

You can pre-make and freeze the shortcrust pastry: after lightly kneading into a ball, wrap tightly in clingwrap then place in a zip-loc or freezer bag. Keep frozen for up to 6 months. To thaw, allow to defrost at room temperature for 6 hours or overnight. Once defrosted, you can roll out and bake as normal.

Troubleshooting and Tips

My shortcrust pastry dough is too dry and crumbly

This may be caused by too much flour or not enough liquid. Different brands of flour will absorb different quantities of liquid and may impact the consistency of the dough. If your pastry is too dry, you can slowly knead in a teaspoon of cold water at a time until it comes together.

My shortcrust pastry dough is too soft

Make sure your butter is very cold before adding to the dough, otherwise your dough may be too soft to work with. To fix a soft dough, try refrigerating it for 30 minutes and then attempt to work with it again. If that still doesn't fix it, knead in a teaspoon of flour at a time until the dough is at the right consistency.

My jam is overcooked but my pastry is undercooked

Bake your tarts in the bottom third of your oven if the top of your oven tends to be hotter. Also make sure you are using a metal or other suitable tart pan which will properly conduct heat - glass pans are slow to conduct heat and will not cook the pastry quickly enough. You may also need to rotate the tarts during cooking to prevent one half of the pan burning. Reduce the temperature of the oven if your jam is beginning to burn.

Variations

You can use whatever type of jam you like to switch up the flavour of the recipe, such as apricot or other berries.

You can also use this shortcrust pastry recipe to make tartlet shells on their own, and then fill them with different toppings such as:

• Chocolate ganache
• Lemon curd
• Cheesecake
• Pumpkin pie
• Key lime curd
• Cream and fruit

The possibilities are endless!

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• White Chocolate and Raspberry Blondies
• White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
• Fudgy Brownies with Raspberries