I feel I must start by saying I can make more complex things than Jam Tarts – I promise! It’s just that last week's talk of making them in my Grandma’s kitchen as child kind of made me want to make them again! I have made a bit more effort with them than back when I was 5 years old though. Oh, and apologies for the poor quality photos on this post – I’m having some issues with my camera, it’s being argumentative – so I’ve had to use a camera phone just this once!
Just before writing this I did a quick bit of Googling to see if the Jam Tart has any interesting history. I thought maybe they had been around for a couple of hundred years, but as it turns out it’s possible people have been enjoying these simple treats since the 8th Century! Of course their form and content have changed a lot since then but they were good enough for the British Museum(among other venues) to make space for some of the oldest in an exhibition! Check it Out....
Anyway, back to the 21st Century Jam Tart…
I’m sure that many of you accomplished bakers out there really don’t need a recipe for Jam Tarts, but for all the first timers and novices, I’m going to set it out for you anyway! J
Start by making your pastry. To make about 18-20 tarts you’ll need:
8oz plain flour
2oz unsalted butter
2oz lard or vegetable fat (Trex)
2-3 tbsp water
Pinch of salt
Mix the flour, salt and the two fats together with your fingertips until they resemble breadcrumbs. You can miss out the lard if you prefer of course but I much prefer the texture you get with the half and half combo, it’s shorter and crumblier when baked. But of course, it’s a preference thing so try both and see which you like!
If at this point you’re worrying that you’re putting salt in dessert pastry – don’t worry – I find this works better for a dessert as sweet as the Jam Tart, the salt offset the sugar a bit to take the edge off the sweetness…meaning you can eat more before you start to feel sick – bonus!
Just keep adding the water bit by bit and knead until you’ve got a smooth dough. It might take a bit less than the recipe, it might take a bit more. It’ll vary depending on the humidity and the temperature of your hands so it will probably be different each time you make pastry. Be careful not to over-knead the pastry though. If you overwork it the gluten in the flour will cause it to become much too elastic, and the baked pastry will be chewy instead of lovely and crumbly.
Once you’ve got everything combined wrap it tightly in cling film and pop it in the fridge for an hour or so.
Once the pastry has chilled I like to knead in a few drops of vanilla and almond extract, to make the pastry that bit tastier. (The almond in particular works really well with raspberry jam!) Plus that little bit of extra moisture means that when you’re rolling out on a floured board it’ll help prevent the pastry drying out on you!
(wow….really need to get that camera sorted out before the next post….)
Cut out rounds slightly bigger than the top of the wells in your tart tin. (I always use the ones with the scalloped edges as that’s what my grandma always used)
Gently place each circle into the wells of your tart tin. Then, scrunch up a pastry off-cut into a ball and use this to gently ease the pastry into the sides of the wells. I find this works really well for getting the pastry right into the edges, and it prevents you making any nicks in the pastry with your nails. (Check out my baking tin – old school isn’t it – it’s actually the one my grandma and I used when I was a kid! J Oh and in case you’re wondering, it’s not a dirty tin I promise, all the marks are just down to its age! )
Then all you need to do is fill your cases with whatever jam or curd you choose to use. (I used Homemade Lemon Curd and Seedless Raspberry Jam) Fill the cases about 2/3 full, any more than that and they’ll overflow – and let me tell you – jam melted onto a baking tin is NOT so fun to clean off.
You can put the tarts in the oven straight away just as they are – but I like to put a wee bit of pastry decoration on the top.
Finally, before the tarts go in the oven brush any exposed pastry with beaten egg. It makes the pastry go golden brown and beautifully shiny. Now bake the tarts in the oven for about 8-10 minutes or until they’re golden. You won’t harm them by peeking in the oven a couple of times to see if they’re done, so just keep an eye on them.
Now…this is important….when they’re done for goodness sake don’t try and get the tarts out of the tin until they’ve cooled for a good 10-15 minutes. While I’d love to get people making jam tarts again, I don’t want to be responsible for inducing some serious sugar burns!
(…and all the lovely detail of the golden brown pastry is ruined by the camera phone…sigh….)
And there you have it –lovely, yummy, albeit very pixelated Jam Tarts, just like Grandma used to make.
Now for anyone wondering about the aforementioned Homemade Lemon Curd - don’t you worry – I’ve got a post for that coming soon!
xx
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