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This jam tartlet recipe is the perfect nostalgic treat and one of my go to easy baking recipes. They are so simple, yet so delicious and always a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Think crisp, buttery pastry filled with your favourite jam, all in one bite.
When people mention baking tarts, I think lots of people immediately think of elaborate desserts. Don’t get me wrong, I love making my lemon meringue tart and warming mincemeat and frangipane tart (one of my most popular festive baking recipes). Both are ideal when you want a ‘wow factor’ special occasion pudding. However, sometimes you just want to whip up something super easy, but just as delicious. On those occasions, these jam tartlets are the perfect solution.
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe:
- They are super easy to make. Perfect for all baking abilities!
- They are easy to prep ahead.
- These jam tartlets are bitesized, ideal for birthday parties, celebrations and picnics.
- They are so versatile – you can switch up the jam and try all sorts of flavours, or use fruit curd.
Ingredients:
Full recipe can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, just scroll down!
Plain flour – also known as ‘all-purpose’ flour in the US.
Caster sugar – known as superfine sugar. You can use granulated too. It just adds a hint of sweetness to the pastry.
Butter – it must be cold so your pastry has the right texture.
Jam – known as jelly in the US. Use whatever flavour you fancy.
Substitutions and Variations:
Jam – you can use any flavour jam you like for these jam tartlets. Raspberry and strawberry are traditional, but apricot, blackberry, blueberry and cherry all work well too. Or use fruit curd. Lemon curd is always a favourite (here is my easy lemon curd recipe) or orange curd is delicious too.
Icing sugar – finish these jam tartlets with a dusting of icing sugar just before serving for a pretty decoration.
Here’s how to make little jam tartlets:
Here’s a step by step guide for what you need to do, but you can find the full recipe at the bottom of the page for detailed instructions.
ONE: Place the flour, salt, sugar and butter into the food processor.
TWO: Pulse until you have the consistency of breadcrumbs.
THREE: Add the egg, followed by 1 tbsp milk. Pulse again until a dough starts to come together (if you squish it with your fingers you should be able to roll it into a ball). If it seems a little crumbly and dry, gradually add the remaining milk and pulse again.
FOUR: Place a piece of greaseproof paper onto your work surface and tip the pastry dough on top. Bring the pastry together into a ball.
FIVE: Wrap in the greaseproof paper and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes.
SIX: Preheat the oven to 190ºC/170ºC Fan/375ºF and set out your trays. Remove the pastry from the fridge and lay another large sheet of greaseproof on the top. Using a rolling pin, roll out to about 0.5 cm thick.
SEVEN: Using a lightly floured cutter or a glass about 2 cm larger than your chosen tin holes, stamp out rounds.
EIGHT: Place them into the tins, pushing down to the bottom so they sit tight around the edges. Add a teaspoon of jam to each then bake the jam tartlets in the oven and bake for about 18-20 minutes.
Cooking Tips:
Cold butter: this is essential for that light and flaky texture that makes pastry so delicious. Making the pastry in the food processor also helps keep it cool as you don’t have to worry about the heat of your hands melting the butter.
Chilling: don’t be tempted to skip this step as it allows the gluten to relax. This also makes it easier to roll out and reduces the chance of shrinkage.
Quantity of jam: I know I normally say ‘be generous’ when it comes to portions, but with this jam tartlet recipe, you want to hold back a bit. This is because the jam will bubble up in the oven and overflow if you have filled it too much.
Cooling time: it is super tempting to dive in straight away, but try to resist the temptation and leave the jam tartlets to cool for 10 minutes in the tins. This helps the pastry firm up a little which means the tartlets will hold their shape. Also, the jam is very hot when it first comes out of the oven.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, homemade is always better I must say but shop bought is fine! I recommend an all-butter version.
Yes. Only needs 30 minutes so don’t skip it. It gives the gluten in the flour a chance to relax. This makes the dough more pliable and easier to work with, helps reduce shrinkage during baking.
You can fill these jam tartlets with any flavour of jam you like. Try to go for a good quality jam with a high fruit content. Apart from that, the choice is up to you. Strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, cherry, blueberry, apricot, to name a few.
Other recipes you might enjoy:
If you like the sound of this jam tartlet recipe, try my plum yoghurt cake or my Apple Puff Pastry Tart. Also don’t miss my blackberry pie with cream cheese or scones with clotted cream and jam.
Easy Baking Recipes
Jamaican Ginger Cake
Easy Baking Recipes
Clafoutis aux Cerises (French Cherry Dessert)
Easy Baking Recipes
Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins
Easy Baking Recipes
School Cake Sprinkle Sponge with Custard
If you tried these cute Jam Tartlets or any other recipe on the site, please do leave a rating or comment and let us know how it went!
Jam Tartlets
Ingredients
For the sweet shortcrust pastry:
- 225 g plain flour, 1 ½ cups
- ¼ tsp salt
- 50 g caster sugar, ¼ cup
- 115 g cold unsalted butter, cubed (½ cup)
- 1 large egg
- 1-2 tbsp whole milk, you may need more
For the filling:
- 1 jar of jam – your favourite flavour
Instructions
For the sweet shortcrust pastry:
- I always make my pastry in the food processor as it is so much quicker and easier. You can, of course, do it by hand if you prefer. Place the flour, salt, sugar and butter into the food processor. Pulse until you have the consistency of breadcrumbs.
- Add the egg, followed by 1 tbsp milk. Pulse again until a dough starts to come together (if you squish it with your fingers you should be able to roll it into a ball). If it seems a little crumbly and dry, gradually add the remaining milk and pulse again. Try not to add too much liquid – the more liquid in the dough, the more it will shrink.
- Place a piece of greaseproof paper onto your work surface and tip the pastry dough on top – I prefer to do this instead of adding flour as too much flour can change the texture. Bring the pastry together into a ball, wrap in the greaseproof paper and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes (you can do this up to 3 days in advance).
- When ready to make your jam tartlets, preheat the oven to 190ºC/170ºC Fan/375ºF and set out your trays – you can make 12 large muffin-sized tarts, 24 cupcake-sized tarts or 42 mini tartlets. Lightly grease with softened butter if not silicone or non-stick.
- Remove the pastry from the fridge (if it’s been in the fridge longer than 30 minutes, you might need to leave it to warm up for 15 minutes or so before you can roll it) and lay another large sheet of greaseproof on the top. Using a rolling pin, roll out to about 0.5 cm thick.
- Using a lightly floured cutter or a glass about 2 cm larger than your chosen tin holes, stamp out rounds. Place them into the tins, pushing down to the bottom so they sit tight around the edges (don’t worry too much about them looking perfect, they are supposed to be rustic).
- Repeat until you have used up all the pastry, re rolling as necessary. If you are doing them in batches, just cover and chill the dough in the fridge until needed.
To fill the tartlets:
- place 1 tsp jam into the mini tartlets or 2 tsp jam into bigger ones – you want them just over halfway filled. I know it is tempting to add more, but the jam bubbles and rises as it cooks so don’t be too generous!
- Pop in the oven and bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. If they are larger tarts, they may need a little longer. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes – take care as the jam will be very hot.
- After 10 minutes, using a palette knife, carefully remove the tarts from the tins and place onto a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This jam tartlet recipe couldn’t be simpler and works every time. I love how nostalgic and cute the tarts turn out.