The simplest of things can also be the tastiest and these delicate little tarts are delicious and fun....and a great way to introduce kids to the wonderful pleasures of the kitchen and cooking, and after all your hard work you can have a little tea party in the garden!
These tarts can be knocked up in minutes, cost very little, have perfect results, and with a minimum of fuss and mess....all very important qualities when you first get kids involved in cooking.
You can buy the pastry ready made and pre-rolled and with your favourite jam you're good to go!
You will need......makes 18 - 20 tarts
1 sheet of pre-rolled sweet or plain shortcrust pastry chilled or frozen as available
a good quality jam of your choice.....I do prefer raspberry.....home-made of course is the best but shop bought is fine.....no guilt allowed!
a little butter at room temperature
patty tins / cupcake trays
fluted or plain pastry cutter....it should be as wide as the cup space on your patty tin
small start shaped cutter if you can get one
How to.....
- if using frozen pastry let it defrost overnight in the fridge,
- remove the packaging from your pastry, unroll the sheet of pastry gently onto a very lightly floured work surface
- butter the patty tins and set aside
- using your fluted or plain cutter, cut out 12 circles, place them in the patty tin holes and press gently to mold and to remove any air bubbles
- cut some little star shapes from around the circles
- gather up the remaining pastry trimmings and squeeze them together then knead them into a smooth ball of pastry, chill in the fridge while you prepare and bake the first batch of tarts
- place a heaped teaspoon of jam into each raw pastry shell...don't be tempted to add more as the jam will bubble up in the heat of the oven and could caramelize and burn to the patty tin
- bake your tarts at 180oC in a pre-heated oven for approx 15 - 18 minutes or until golden brown and the pastry is crisp
- remove the tarts from the oven, allow to cool for a few moments then loosen them from the tray and place on a wire cooling rack
- take the ball of pastry trimmings from the fridge and roll out to a similar thickness of the pastry sheet
- cut more circles out and repeat the filling and baking process
Allow these little tarts to cool fully before serving as hot jam can cause a severe burn!
Store these in a suitable biscuit tin or container......that's if they last that long!
Try making these with a variety of jams.....strawberry, lemon, lime or orange marmalade, lemon curd or any home-made jam of your own making.
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