Raspberry Jam Tarts are the easiest and quickest baked good that I have made for my children when they were growing up. Made with simple ingredients such as flour, butter, and filled with jam, the simple jam tarts are found in most bakeries around the world.
The humble tart has an honored history going back almost six centuries to the Middle Ages. Essentially, it is an open baked pastry dish filled with pretty much whatever you want. In fact, tarts are the basis of flans, quiches, and even open pies, with no discernible definition. However, the key distinction, if there was one, is the use of short crust pastry.
Although jam tarts are generally associated with English baking, the original tart recipes can be traced back to the French luxury foods. I learned how to bake my own jam tarts when I was eleven years old at a summer camp in Chennai.
When I was living in England, I refined my techniques and studied how to make continental tarts. The university, where my husband was a graduate student, had an entire international group of spouses. This university group had organized several events and even published books, by immersing and educating us on British and Continental cooking and baking.
My mom made her own jams, ketchups, and juice concentrates using fresh and local ingredients. As a result, this encouraged me to make condiments at home. It gives me the satisfaction of knowing exactly what goes into my mouth and by extension, my health and well-being.
I grow two varieties of raspberries at home: golden and red. These are shrubs that spread vigorously and grow well under direct sunlight. Since I have so much of them every spring and summer, I make them into jams to be used in Swiss Tartlets and whisk them in Healthy Mocktails.
In this recipe, I have used homemade raspberry jam for most of the tarts and used strawberry jam for others. Strawberries perish quickly after I pick them from the berry patch. So I preserve them and one of the best ways to enjoy homegrown fruits year-round is to make them into preserves.
This is one of the simplest and most straightforward baked good that can be served, and I hope that this recipe inspires you. Check out my other British baked goods such as Victoria Sandwich Cake and Orange Scones!
How to make Raspberry Jam Tarts:
1.How to make the short crust pastry:
Pre-heat the oven to 4000F. Sieve the flour with the salt. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips. You could use a pastry cutter if you prefer. The flour should resemble breadcrumbs.
2. Use ice cold water and make a dough. Do not overwork the dough, but just enough to bring it together. You do not want to have a smooth dough.
3. Roll out the dough to 1/8″ thickness. Use a fluted cutter and cut out the the tart shells. Put each shell in a muffin, tart mold or baking cups.
4. Prick lightly on top of the shell and spoon some raspberry jam into it. Do not prick down to the bottom of the mold. Bake for 14 minutes. Cool and serve with tea.
Other methods of making Raspberry Jam Tarts:
- Use the same ingredients. You could “blind bake” the tart shells for 10 minutes using some beans in each of the shells and then spoon jam into them. Bake the tarts again for another 5-8 minutes.
- You could make the pastry using rich short crust. The only difference is the addition of one egg yolk and a bit more butter. The quantity of butter can be increased by another half equaling one and a half times butter for the rich short crust. Rich short crust pastry calls for lesser water as the egg yolk will help bind the dough.
1. What can I do if the jam tarts bubble up while baking?
I prick the tarts lightly before baking and spooning in the jam. This will prevent the tarts from bubbling up.
2. Is brushing the tarts with milk necessary to get a golden color on top?
The tarts bake to a golden color on their own, so there is no need to brush with milk.
3. What are the storage requirements for the tarts?
Jam tarts need to be cooled and then placed in airtight containers. They will keep for a week. I like to bake them in baking cups. Freezing the leftovers is a viable option. Thaw the jam tarts and re-heat by baking them for a minute or two.
Raspberry Jam Tarts
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
For the short crust pastry:
- ½ lb all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 5 ozs unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp water ice cold
For the filling:
- raspberry jam as needed
Instructions
How to make the short crust pastry:
- Preheat the oven to 4000F. Sieve the flour with the salt. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips. You could use a pastry cutter, if you prefer. The flour should resemble breadcrumbs.
- Use ice cold water and make a dough. Do not overwork the dough, but just enough to bring it together. You do not want to make a smooth dough.
How to make the Raspberry Jam Tarts:
- Roll out the dough to 1/8" thickness. Use a fluted cutter and cut out the the tart shells. Put each shell in a muffin, tart mold or baking cups.
- Prick lightly on top of the shell and spoon some raspberry jam into it. Do not prick down to the bottom of the mold. Bake for 14 minutes. Cool and serve with tea.
Notes
- I have used mini tart cutters to get 24 tarts. The yield will depend on the size of your cutter.
- The tarts shells can be filled with other flavors of jam such as apricot, berry preserve, or even used as a base for key lime pie.
Nutrition
This recipe turned out wonderfully when I tried it. Thank you Kanchan, looking forward to what comes next!