Thursday, May 5, 2011

Jam Tarts


I found this recipe online and it turned out amazing! I would say that the dough is very hard when you take it out of the fridge, then it softens very fast so you need to have your tart shells sprayed and floured before you take out the dough. I did mini tarts and they only cooked for 16 min at 375 degrees.


Marmalade Tart



The crust is Italian-style crostata, supposed to be very sweet. For pursuing a healthier eating habbit, I have cut down the sugar. It is sweet enough, but is still rich due to a high portion of butter and eggs.

The dough is very tender; good thing is rolling becomes so easy. But the dough will turn sticky quick (due to a lot of butter), so please do the cutting and fitting fast. Always lightly floured your hands should help too.

Recipe of marmalade tart

yield two 8" standard tarts or approx. 10 small tartlets, lattice top included

  • superb quality of marmalade, made from organic fruit
  • for the crust:
  • 300 g flour =2.4 Cups
  • 160 g butter, cold, and cubed less than ½ lb.
  • 90 g sugar= ½ c.
  • a small pinch of salt
  • 1 whole egg
  • 1 egg yolk (only)
  • 1 Tbp cold water
  • a bit lemon zest

How-to

  • Pre-greased and lightly floured the pans. The 8" one should have a removable bottom.
  • Pre-heat oven to medium/medium-high, about 350-375
  • In a small bowl, whisk the egg, the yolk and a table spoon of water. Set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl OR Large Food Processor, combine the flour, salt, lemon zest and sugar.
  • Use a pastry blender (Or the Food Processor), cut the butter cubes into the flour mixture until the whole content has a texture similar to very coarse corn meal. Combine with the egg mixture and form a smooth dough (Kneading briefly may be necessary, but must not over-do it otherwise the butter will start melting).
  • Divide into three doughs, wrap each with clingwrap and rest them in fridge for half day.
  • Roll out each dough to 1/4"-thick or less. Cut to fit your pan's size. If you make 8" tarts, two doughs go for the bottom crust. The last dough is for cutting to long strips.
  • Fit each pan with bottom crust, fill with a thin layer of marmalade, arrange long strips on top or create lattice top if you like.
  • Bake the tarts until they turn golden brown, time is various to the size. For the big one may take 30 mins, the small 20 mins.
  • Optional I did some with strawberry jam and apricot. Spread them thin so they don't bubble up onto the mold.