In this article
My friend Margaret grew up in England, and she learned jam tarts and the rhyme in the same week, standing on a kitchen chair beside her grandmother. “The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts, all on a summer’s day.” The rhyme was printed in The European Magazine in 1782, and jam tarts were already old then. Ask any British grandmother what she baked first with a child and the answer is nearly always the same: a tray of little pastry shells with a spoon of jam in each. Strawberry, raspberry, apricot, all on one tray, so they come out looking like a box of jewels.
Margaret’s rule is the one that decides whether your jam tarts look like jewels or like an accident: never overfill. The jam boils in the oven. A tart filled to the brim bubbles over, glues itself to the tin and burns at the edges, and the pastry underneath goes soggy. A little jam, and it melts, settles and sets glossy and flat, like stained glass. So here is exactly how much jam goes in each tart: one heaping teaspoon, about 12 grams, and not a drop more.
Why this jam tarts works
- One heaping teaspoon of jam per tart. Enough to fill the shell about two thirds full once it melts, never so much that it boils over the rim.
- Plain shortcrust, handled little. Cold butter rubbed into flour with the fingertips and bound with cold water stays short and crisp.
- Rolled thin. About 1/8 inch thick, so the pastry bakes through and crisps before the jam overcooks.
- A hot oven. 400 degrees sets the pastry quickly and keeps the jam from soaking into it.
- Thick jam. A good set jam holds its shape in the oven; a runny preserve boils and spills.
Ingredients
Makes 12 jam tarts in a standard 12 hole bun tin or shallow muffin tin. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets, the grams being the traditional British weights.
For the shortcrust pastry
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (190g), plus extra for rolling
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (12g)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut in small cubes (113g)
- 3 to 4 tablespoons ice-cold water
For the filling
- 12 heaping teaspoons thick jam in all (about 150g): strawberry, raspberry and apricot, 4 of each
Use a thick, well set jam. If your jam is loose, stir it in a bowl first; if it is very runny, use a level teaspoon instead of a heaping one.
How to make jam tarts
- Whisk the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the cold butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs, with no lumps bigger than a pea.
- Sprinkle in 3 tablespoons of the cold water and stir with a knife until the dough starts to clump. Add the last spoon only if it is still dry. Press it into a flat disc, wrap it and chill for 20 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees (200°C). Lightly butter a 12 hole bun tin or shallow muffin tin.
- Roll the pastry out on a floured counter to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut 12 rounds with a 3 inch fluted cutter, gathering and rerolling the scraps only once.
- Press each round gently into a hole of the tin so it sits snugly without stretching.
- Put one heaping teaspoon of jam, about 12 grams, in the center of each shell. Do not spread it and do not add more. It will melt and level itself in the oven.
- Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the pastry edges are golden and the jam is bubbling gently in the middle.
- Leave the tarts in the tin for 5 minutes, then lift them out onto a rack. Let them cool for at least 20 minutes before eating: the jam is far hotter than it looks.
Tips that make the difference
- Keep everything cold. Cold butter, cold water and cool hands make crisp pastry; warm pastry turns tough and shrinks.
- If the jam does bubble over, run a small knife around each tart while it is still warm, before the sugar sets.
- Bake one color per row so the tray looks like Margaret’s, and nobody fights over the raspberry ones without knowing which they are.
- Children can do the jam with a teaspoon; just keep an eye on how heaping the spoon gets.
Variations
- Lemon curd tarts. Fill the shells with lemon curd instead of jam and bake only 12 to 14 minutes.
- Star tops. Cut small pastry stars from the scraps and lay one on top of the jam before baking.
- Lattice. Lay two thin crossing strips of pastry over each tart for a little lattice.
- Store-bought pastry. A sheet of ready-made pie dough works in a hurry; roll it a little thinner first.
Storage and make-ahead
Keep jam tarts in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to 3 days. The pastry stays crisp best uncovered for the first hour, then lidded.
They freeze well for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature and crisp them for 5 minutes in a 350 degree oven if you like.
The pastry dough can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept wrapped in the refrigerator.
Frequently asked questions
How much jam goes in each jam tart?
One heaping teaspoon, about 12 grams. It looks too little when it goes in, but it melts and spreads to fill the shell. More than that and it boils over and burns.
Why did my jam boil over?
Too much jam, or a runny jam. Fill with one heaping teaspoon of a thick set jam and the tarts stay neat.
Why is my pastry tough?
It was handled too much or rerolled too many times. Margaret rolls the scraps together only once, and the last bits become one wobbly tart for the baker.
Is the Queen of Hearts rhyme really that old?
Yes. The rhyme about the Queen of Hearts and her tarts was printed in The European Magazine in 1782, and Lewis Carroll used it later in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
A little jam, not a lot. Margaret says that is the only rule, and the stained glass on the tray is your reward for keeping it.
Old-Fashioned British Jam Tarts (Never Overfill Them)
Classic British jam tarts: 12 little shortcrust shells cut with a fluted cutter, each filled with just 1 heaping teaspoon of strawberry, raspberry or apricot jam, baked at 400 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes until golden.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (190g), plus extra for rolling
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut in small cubes
- 3 to 4 tablespoons ice-cold water
- 12 heaping teaspoons thick jam in all (about 150g): strawberry, raspberry and apricot, 4 of each
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the cold butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs, with no lumps bigger than a pea.
- Sprinkle in 3 tablespoons of the cold water and stir with a knife until the dough starts to clump. Add the last spoon only if it is still dry. Press it into a flat disc, wrap it and chill for 20 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees (200°C). Lightly butter a 12 hole bun tin or shallow muffin tin.
- Roll the pastry out on a floured counter to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut 12 rounds with a 3 inch fluted cutter, gathering and rerolling the scraps only once.
- Press each round gently into a hole of the tin so it sits snugly without stretching.
- Put one heaping teaspoon of jam, about 12 grams, in the center of each shell. Do not spread it and do not add more. It will melt and level itself in the oven.
- Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the pastry edges are golden and the jam is bubbling gently in the middle.
- Leave the tarts in the tin for 5 minutes, then lift them out onto a rack. Let them cool for at least 20 minutes before eating: the jam is far hotter than it looks.
