Go Back
+ servings
A plate of pastry shells filled with berry jam.

Mini Jam Tarts

These simple homemade mini jam tarts with buttery pastry and a sweet jam filling make a great lunch box treat or after school snack.
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin
Course: Snacks
Cuisine: western
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Chilling Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 12 serves
Calories: 171kcal

Equipment

  • Food processor, beaters, stand-mixer or Thermomix
  • Oven

Ingredients

For The Pastry

  • 85 g butter softened to room temperature
  • 30 g (2 tbs) caster sugar superfine
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla essence
  • 150 g (1 cup) plain flour all purpose
  • ¼ tsp bi-carbonate soda

For The Filling

  • 255 g (¾ cup) jam

Instructions

Conventional Method

  • Place the room temperature butter and the sugar into a large mixing bowl. Beat with a stand-mixer, beaters or a food processor until pale, smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  • Add the egg and vanilla extract and continue to beat until well combined.
  • Sift over the plain flour and bicarbonate soda and mix until the dough comes together.
  • Place the bowl of dough into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
  • Once chilled, form the dough into a ball. Place the ball onto a lightly floured board or bench and roll it out with a rolling pin until 5mm thick.
  • Use a 6cm diameter round cookie cutter to cut out the pastry circles.
  • Lightly grease a 12 hole patty pan tin. Gently press each of the pastry circles into the holes.
  • Spoon 1-2 teaspoons of jam into the pastry shells, filling almost to the top.
  • Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius (fan-forced).
  • Optional (but recommended - see notes): Chill the tarts in the patty pan tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
  • Bake the tarts for 10 minutes or until the edges of the pastry start to turn slightly golden.
  • Allow the tarts to cool in the baking pan for 30 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Note: as tempting as it is, do NOT eat the tarts while they are warm as the jam will burn your mouth.
  • Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days.

Thermomix Method

  • Place the room temperature butter and the sugar into the Thermomix bowl. Mix for 15 seconds, Speed 4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix for a further 15 seconds or until pale and creamy.
  • Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix for 30 seconds, Speed 3.
  • Add the plain flour and bi-carbonate of soda and mix for 10 seconds, Speed 5. Then knead for 2 minutes, Kneading function.
  • Place the Thermomix bowl with the dough inside, into the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.
  • Once chilled, form the dough into a ball. Place the ball onto a lightly floured board or bench and roll it out with a rolling pin until 5mm thick.
  • Use a 6cm diameter round cookie cutter to cut out the pastry circles.
  • Lightly grease a 12 hole patty pan tin. Gently press each of the pastry circles into the holes.
  • Spoon 1-2 teaspoons of jam into the pastry shells, filling almost to the top.
  • Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius (fan-forced).
  • Optional (but recommended - see notes): Chill the pastry in the patty pan tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
  • Bake the tarts for 10 minutes or until the edges of the pastry start to turn slightly golden.
  • Allow the tarts to cool in the baking pan for 30 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Note: as tempting as it is, do NOT eat the tarts while they are warm as the jam will burn your mouth.
  • Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days.

Video

Notes

RECIPE NOTES & TIPS
Ingredients Info: 
  • Flour – choose plain flour (also known as all purpose flour)
  • Bi-Carbonate Soda – also known as baking soda
  • Caster Sugar – also known as superfine sugar. You can also use regular white sugar
  • Butter – either unsalted or salted butter is fine to use
  • Egg – choose a large egg (approximately 55g)
  • Vanilla Extract – or vanilla essence
More Recipe Tips:
Freezing - freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Place into the fridge to defrost before consuming.
Storing - you can store jam tarts in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To stop the jam boiling over - as long as you don’t overfill the tart shells with jam, they should not overflow as they’re not cooked at a super high temperature. Fill the shells with jam to just below the top. If you find the jam is boiling over, your oven needs to be turned down slightly.
Avoiding shrinking pastry - all pastry does shrink a little when baked. If you find that your pastry is shrinking too much, your pastry may have been overworked when it was being prepared. Also, chilling the dough helps to prevent it from shrinking.
I like to chill the dough before placing into the patty pan cases and then chilling again before baking – this definitely helps to minimise shrinking.
Pastry substitution - if you’re running short on time, or don’t have the equipment needed to make homemade pastry then you can substitute it for store-bought shortcrust pastry sheets. I don’t recommend using puff pastry as it puffs up into the jam filling.
Patty Pan Tin - A patty pan tin is a rectangular baking tray with small shallow round holes in it. It's perfect for making small tarts and cakes. 
 

Nutrition

Calories: 171kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 86mg | Potassium: 37mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 197IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg