Traditional British Jam Tarts are a classic easy bake, prepared with a few ingredients and ideal for afternoon tea, parties, picnics, pack lunches, cake fundraising sales, game-day snacks, movie night nibbles, buffets and pot-lucks.Or enjoy a jam tart along with your tea or coffee break or for a budget-friendly family after dinner treat.
225gramsPlain flour[or all-purpose flour, or replace with gluten-free plain flour plus ¼ teaspoon xantham gum]
115gramsMargarine[use one suitable for baking, we use Stork baking spread but any baking fat can be used]
30gramsIcing sugar[powdered sugar] [or replace with caster or granulated sugar]
Filling:
20teaspoonsstrawberry jam[use heaped teaspoon measurements, and use more if required, can use a selection of different fruits jams including marmalade]
Instructions
Shortcrust pastry:
Sift the flour and icing sugar into a mixing bowl and stir.
225 grams Plain flour, 30 grams Icing sugar
Add the margarine in small pieces to the bowl.Using your finger tips rub the margarine into the flour mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs.
115 grams Margarine
Add a tablespoon of cold water and stir into the flour mixture using a cutlery knife or similar. Add an extra few teaspoons of cold water and stir well until the mixture begins to clump together.Using your hands press the mixture together into a pastry dough.[Don't use too much water just add a little at a time and stir well each time. If using gluten-free flour you may need to use a little extra water]
Sprinkle flour over your work surface and gently knead the dough for a few seconds. If the dough is too sticky work in some extra flour and if the dough is too dry and cracking work in some extra water.
Wrap the dough in cling film or Seram wrap. Smooth the dough with your hands through the wrap as this can help get the dough into a smoother texture.Alternatively wrap the pastry in some baking paper.
Place the pastry into a refrigerator to chill for at least 25-30 minutes.
Assemble the jam tarts:
This recipe makes enough for about 24 jam tarts so if baking at the same time 2 12 cup cake trays will be required. However, the pastry will be fine in the refrigerator for a few days or within the freezer for a few months so you can prepare one tray at a time if preferred.
Preheat the oven to 160 Fan / 180C / 356 Fahrenheit / Gas 4.
Grease the cup cake pans with some margarine.
Sprinkle flour over the work surface. Unwrap the pastry and place onto the floured surface. Using a rolling pin roll the pastry out to roughly about ¼-½ cm thick.
With your cookie cutter stamp out circles of pastry.
Press the pastry into each cup cake hole. Fill each pastry shell with enough jam or marmalade to fill each tart to about ¾ full.[Wipe away any jam that may have been spilled onto the tray especially if its beside or on the pastry as this can bubble over during baking and glue the pastry to the tray as it cools!]
20 teaspoons strawberry jam
Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry has cooked firm and has light golden bits around the side. Fan ovens may take quicker to bake so check after 15 minutes. Our electric oven took 20 minutes to bake the tarts. Another way to check the tarts are baked is if the bottom of the tarts are firm and lightly golden, but be careful checking as the jam will be very hot.
[If your oven is small and you are baking both trays of jam tarts the second tray can be stored within the refrigerator until baked]
Leave the tarts to cool for a few minutes within the baking tray but do transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely, as this will avoid the tarts sticking to the tray as they cool.
Notes
Nutritional information is provided for guidance only and is not a strict calculation as ingredients vary.
Jam tarts are best enjoyed on the day of baking or the next day but will be fine for 2-3 days, or for a few days longer if stored within the refrigerator.
Store leftover jam tarts within an airtight container. If stacking the jam tarts into a container then add a layer of baking paper between the layers to avoid the jam sticking to other tarts.
Jam tarts can be frozen for 2-3 months - cover with a layer of food wrap and a second layer of kitchen foil and place into a freezer container.
Cup cake trays are more commonly known as fairy cake trays in the UK.
You can also use shallow bun or muffin trays, or mince pie trays.
For this recipe we used a fairy cake tray which was about 2 inch diameter at the top of each cup-hole, and at the bottom 1 ½ inch [one and a half] diameter, with the depth being around ½ inch [half inch].
If using a larger baking pan compared to our small fairy cake baking tray or a small cup cake tray - the recipe may yield less jam tarts as the tarts produced will be a little larger.
Jam tarts can also be prepared as one or two large tarts using apple pie or flan baking dishes or similar. Bake the large jam tarts until the pastry is lightly golden and cooked. Allow the jam tart to cool and settle before slicing into portions.
Short of time? Prep the pastry a few days in advance or prepare and freeze until required. Or use shop bought shortcrust pastry.
Icing or powdered sugar gives the pastry a crisper texture, but it can be replaced with caster or granulated sugar.
Any variety of fruit jam is perfect for jam tarts, including marmalades, fruit curds, ginger or pineapple preserves.
Use a diabetic or sugar-free jam if necessary - such as home-made chia jam.
For gluten-free jam tarts replace the plain flour with a gluten-free plain flour blend, such as Doves Farm [Freee] gluten-free plain flour, and include a ¼ [quarter] teaspoon of xantham gum as this will help prevent the pastry becoming too crumbly. You may require a little extra water to prepare the pastry.
For more useful recipe notes and frequently asked questions do have a look at our recipe notes and FAQ sections located above the recipe.