One of the first recipes my mum ever taught me to bake probably because a jam tart recipe is just so easy just a little pasty and jam or, for lemon tarts, using lemon curd.
It seems jam tarts have been around forever but any historical reference to jam tarts appears at the same time sugar was available for jam making (honey, though sweet is no good for making jam) and as sugar in any form was costly, the humble jam tart had quite a status symbol. The tarts no longer carry such celebrity, and has been out of fashion for quite some time but in these strained times are making a come back.
It seems jam tarts have been around forever but any historical reference to jam tarts appears at the same time sugar was available for jam making (honey, though sweet is no good for making jam) and as sugar in any form was costly, the humble jam tart had quite a status symbol. The tarts no longer carry such celebrity, and has been out of fashion for quite some time but in these strained times are making a come back.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Pastry Resting Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes
Yield: Approx 18 tarts
Ingredients:
- 8 oz/250g all purpose/plain flour
- Pinch of salt
- 4oz/ 100g butter, cubed or an equal mix of butter and lard
- 2-3 tbsp cold water
- Strawberry or any fruit jam or lemon curd.
- A little extra butter for greasing
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas 4.
Lightly grease a 12 hole tart mould with a little butter.
Make the Pastry
Assemble the Pies
Lightly grease a 12 hole tart mould with a little butter.
Make the Pastry
- Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean bowl.
- Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, working as quickly as possible to prevent the dough becoming warm.
- Add the water to the mixture and using a cold knife stir until the dough binds together, add more cold water a teaspoon at a time if the mixture is too dry.
- Wrap the dough in Saran wrap/Clingfilm and chill for a minimum of 15 minutes, up to 30 minutes.
Assemble the Pies
- Unwrap the pastry onto a lightly floured work surface and roll to a ¼" /0.5cm thickness. Using a tart cutter or cup, cut circles from the pastry just slightly bigger than the holes in the prepared tart mould. Gently press one disc into each hole.
- Place a heaped teaspoon of jam or lemon curd into the pastry lined tins. Be careful not to overfill as the jam will spill out when hot and burn.
- Repeat until all the pastry is used up - you can squish the pastry trimmings back together and reroll several times, so don't worry, just make sure you rest the pastry circles before cooking.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 mins or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely, do not eat while hot or you may burn your mouth, the jam stays hot for a long time.
