English Jam Tarts Recipes

EASY JAM TARTS

Steps:

• Put the flour, butter and a pinch of salt in a bowl and rub them together with your fingertips (or you can pulse these ingredients together in a food processor if you have one). When the mixture looks and feels like fresh breadcrumbs, stir in the egg and vanilla seeds, if using, with a cutlery knife. Add 1 tbsp cold water, then start to bring the dough together in one lump with your hands - try not to knead it too much. Add 1 more tbsp of water if it's not coming together, but try not to add more than that. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 mins.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Butter a 12-hole tart tin, then dust your work surface with flour. Unwrap and roll out the chilled pastry so it's about the thickness of a £1 coin, then use a straight or fluted round cutter to cut out 12 circles, big enough to line the holes in the tin. Dollop 1-2 tsp of your chosen filling into each one and, if you like, cut out little pastry hearts (perfect for Valentine's Day) and pop them on top.
• Bake for 15-18 mins or until golden and the filling is starting to bubble a little. Leave to cool in the tin for a few mins then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

JAM TARTS

Steps:

• Mix flour, shortening, sugar, and salt together in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add water and mix until a ball is formed. Refrigerate pastry until well chilled, at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 24 shallow muffin cups.
• Roll pastry out thin; cut into rounds with a cookie cutter. Place each round in a muffin cup. Add 2 teaspoons of jam to each cup.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool tarts on a wire rack.

RAINBOW JAM TARTS

Steps:

• Jam tarts are definitely a part of my childhood. They are humble, cheap to make and such a pretty little treat. It's funny how simple pastry with a blob of jam can turn into something so exciting, with chewy bits, bubbling bits, crunchy bits and jammy jelly bits. Even if you cheat a little, and buy ready-made pastry, just the ritual of filling these tarts with your favourite jams and then baking them can be really relaxing. The beauty of these for me is playing with the different jam or jelly flavours so you get a rainbow of colours. Just about every supermarket in Britain stocks a great selection of posh jams: strawberry, blackberry, blueberry, gooseberry, apricot, cranberry ... the sheer number of fillings available now makes these even more exciting than the ones I had as a kid.
• Put the flour, sugar and butter into a food processor with a pinch of sea salt and pulse until you have a mixture that looks like breadcrumbs. Crack in the egg, grate in the zest from your orange or lemon and pulse again, adding a little splash of milk to bring everything together, if needed. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and pop it into the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Dust a clean surface and a rolling pin with flour and roll out the pastry so it's 0.5cm thick. Get yourself a few 12-hole jam tart trays (or cook the tarts in batches) and a fluted pastry cutter just a little bigger than the holes of the tray (normally around 6cm). Cut out rounds of pastry and gently push them into the wells so they come up the sides. Any leftover pastry can be gently pushed back into a ball and rolled out to make a few more tarts. Put 1 heaped teaspoon of filling into each jam tart, interspersing and alternating the flavours of jams, curds or jellies.
• Pop the trays on the middle shelf of the oven and cook for around 12 to 15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the filling is thick and bubbling. Remove from the oven, leave in the tray to firm slightly, then transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool for a few minutes before serving.
• PS: I know this might sound a bit girly, but if you can track down a lovely old tart tin from an antique shop, then serve these straight out of the tin - it looks really good, as the old tins are really cute. See, I told you it was girly!

PAUL'S MUM'S JAM TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
• Rub together the butter or margarine with the flour in a bowl until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in a few tablespoons of water to form a dough. Roll out on a lightly floured surface. Use a pastry cutter to cut out about 20 circular shapes.
• Put each pastry case into an individual cupcake tin. Add a teaspoon of jam to each case - not too much or it will ooze everywhere. If there is any leftover pastry, re-roll it and cut smaller shapes, either circles or stars, and put over the jam to act as the lids.
• Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the pastry has gone pale brown (check the tarts after 20 minutes).

ENGLISH JAM TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200C. Sift the flour, salt and sugar into a bowl and cut in the butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the beaten egg and combine until it forms a dough. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Roll pastry out on a lightly floured surface quite thinly and cut into rounds. Place the rounds in a tartlet tray (bun tray).
• Put a maximum of 1 1/2 tsp of jam of your choice into the tart cases. This pastry shrinks so do not fill to the brim. And put in the oven for approximately 15 minutes.
• Remove form the oven and remove from the tartlet tray immediately and place on a wire rack. Allow to cool before eating as the jam will be exceedingly hot.

EASY TRADITIONAL JAM TARTS

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C Gas Mark 4. Lightly grease a 12-hole tart mold with a little butter.
• Mix the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the cubed butter.
• Working as quickly as you can, use a pastry blender or your hands to rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
• Add the water to the mixture 1 tablespoon at a time and use a cold knife to stir and bind the pastry together. Stop when the pastry comes together.
• Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for a minimum of 15 minutes or up to 30 minutes.
• Unwrap the pastry onto a lightly floured work surface and roll to a 1/4-inch thickness.
• Using a tart cutter or cup, cut circles from the pastry just slightly bigger than the holes in the prepared tart mold. Gently press the discs of dough into each mold.
• Place a heaped teaspoon of jam or lemon curd into the pastry-lined tins. Be careful not to overfill as the jam will bubble out when hot and burn.
• Repeat until all the pastry is used up-you can squish the pastry trimmings back together and reroll as needed.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.
• Once cooled, serve and enjoy.

GEORGINA'S TRUE ENGLISH BUTTER TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Place tart shells on a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edge of crust is golden, about 10 minutes.
• Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Position a rack in the upper 1/3 of the oven.
• Whisk brown sugar, golden syrup, butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt together in a bowl until smooth. Fill pastry shells with sugar mixture about 2/3-full.
• Bake in the preheated oven until filling foams and is bubbly and golden, about 15 minutes. Remove pan and cool for a few minutes on a wire rack; serve warm or at room temperature.

ENGLISH JAM TARTS

Steps:

• Prepare and roll-out 1 Basic Pie Crust recipe.
• Using a 3-inch fluted biscuit cutter, cut out 24 shapes.
• Place one circle of pastry in each cup of the tart tin and press lightly into shape.
• Spoon a scant 1 teaspoon of jam into each tart. Do not overfill, or the jam will bubble up and burn.
• Cover the tins with plastic wrap and place them in the freezer for 30 minutes.
• Pre-heat your oven to 400°F.
• Remove from the freezer and immediately place them in the preheated 400°F oven. Bake for 10 minutes or until the crusts are set and pale golden.
• Remove the jam tarts from the oven and leave them in the tins for 10 minutes. (The temptation to test one at this point is great. Remember that the hot, boiling jam will burn your mouth).
• Take a knife and gently separate the jam tarts from the tin. Place on a plate and cool to room temperature. Tarts that bubble over tend to stick to the pan once cooled. If this occurs, place the tin with the stuck tarts back in the oven for a few minutes-Its remaining heat will warm the jam and make removing the tarts easier.