The Queen Of Hearts Valentine's Jam Tarts
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 o
Steps
Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl , add the butter and rub it in using your finger.
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.
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.
Turn the oven on to 200c / 400f / gas mark 6.
Sprinkle the work surface and your rolling pin with a little flour and roll the pastry out to about cm thick.
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.
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.
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 on.
Ingredients
plain flour, butter, cold water, flour, raspberry jam, caster sugar