The Queen of Hearts - Valentine's Jam Tarts

French Tart's Note:

Jam tarts are a quintessential British teatime treat - little crispy short crust pastry rounds filled with assorted fruit jams, such as strawberry, raspberry, apricot, blackcurrant and lemon curd. They were the first things my mum taught me to bake when I was little, and in turn, I taught my daughter how to make them when she was very small. Here I have suggested that as a Valentine's Day treat, you top the jam tarts with a little pastry heart........after all, the way to a loved one's heart is through their stomach! Jam Tarts normally do NOT have any pastry topping however, so for the rest of the year, just make them as posted with no pastry lid, or use other suitable shapes appropriate for a special event. I have posted homemade short crust pastry, it is so easy to make and is far superior to ready-made, although I DO use ready-made when I am short of time! Try to use good quality or homemade jams and jellies, the higher the fruit content, the less the jam or jelly will bubble out of the pastry case. These are essential for any English Tea Party, especially if Alice in Wonderland has been invited............along with the white rabbit! Have fun!

• Total Time: 57 mins
• Prep Time: 45 mins
• Cook Time: 12 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 6-9

Yield: 12.0 Jam Tarts

• 8 ounces plain flour
• 4 ounces butter , chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1 -2 tablespoon cold water
• flour , for dusting
• raspberry jam or apricot jam or strawberry jam or lemon curd or black currant jam
• caster sugar , for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl, add the butter and rub it in using your fingertips until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
2. Use a knife to mix in the water, a little at a time stirring with the knife until the mixture comes together and you can form a ball with your hands.
3. Wrap the pastry in a piece of clingfilm and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes – this will make it easier to roll out.
4. Turn the oven on to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.
5. Sprinkle the work surface and your rolling pin with a little flour and roll the pastry out to about ¼ cm thick.
6. Dip the cutter in flour then cut out as many circles as you can – you may need to gather the bits of pastry up and roll them out again to make 12 to 18 circles.(Make sure you leave a little of the pastry scraps for the heart shaped pastry lids!) Once you have the desired amount of pastry cases, roll out the pastry scraps and cut out the required amount of hearts, using a mini heart shaped biscuit/cookie cutter.
7. Lay the rounds of pastry in the tart tin, which has been buttered or greased and press them gently into place. Prick the base of each tart once with a fork.
8. Put the tart tray into the oven and bake for 6 minutes until the pastry is very pale golden. Using oven gloves take the tray out of the oven.
9. Carefully put 1 heaped teaspoon of jam into each tart, and then top them off with a pastry heart. Using oven gloves put the tray back into the oven for 6 minutes.
10. Using your oven gloves take the tray out of the oven.
11. Leave them to cool for a few minutes then use a palette knife to gently lift the tarts out of the tin and leave to cool completely on a wire rack. Arrange them on an attractive serving plate and sprinkle with caster sugar.

Reviews

[V'nut-Beyond Redemption]

This is the Queen of Hearts writing. I am using V'nut's account. The tarts are very easy to make. A little buttery to some but still very nice. I used a small cutter so got about 24 tarts. A nice mouthful. I used Smuckers and St. Dalfour's jams. Very good recipe. Keeper. If anyone doesn't like it, then off with their heads!

[Bzi]

YUM! and suprisingly easy! I didin't have tart tins so I just made them like flat biscuits with the jam and little hearts on top. The shortcrust pastry was divine. Needed a bit more cooking time in my oven though. I also ate one before they were dusted in caster sugar, and this was good too... so perhaps the extra calories aren't essential.. Next time I'll have to double the recipe - hubby and I ate them in one hit!

[Derf]

Beautiful little jam tarts for Valentine's Day!! I made these to freeze 'til next week for a Valentine Tea and for FT's Afternoon Tea Event in the photo forum and our Valentine's event. I made them in my mini muffin pan and got 32 tiny cute tarts! I keep butter in the freezer and when I make this kind of pastry I grate it frozen into the flour, makes a lovely short pastry. I used home made strawberry jam and had to get them into the freezer quickly cus DH kept stealing them!! Thanks FT, they are a perfect one bite sweet for Valentines!