What to do with those jars of jams and jellies...

...Make jam tarts of course. Maybe you're not familiar with these much treasured British treats, but if you've ever wondered just what kind of tarts the Queen from Alice in Wonderland is named for, it may just be these. These really are a wonderful way to use up all the exotic and not so exotic jars that maybe were given as Christmas presents or bought through some culinary sense of adventure, only to sit forlornly at the back of the cupboard, never to see the light of day again. Be kind, set them free. Not only will you feel wonderful at putting them to good use, but you will be making some sweet, addictive little tarts with a chewy, caramelized pastry and tasty jam centres. Children love these, although possibly with much more sensible fillings, like strawberry and blackcurrant and not the strange flavours I had lurking about.

For jam tarts to really shine, they should be made with sweet pastry, or pate sucree. The recipe stated using icing sugar (confectioners), but I only had castor (berry) sugar which worked fine. So, just to clarify some more vocabulary conundrums of the culinary kind, icing sugar (UK) is confectioners sugar (N. America) and castor sugar (UK) is berry sugar (BC) or superfine or bakers sugar (N. America). Got it?

The jams and jellies I had been accumulating were an impressive mixed bag of unusual flavours. They were...

Sugar free rhubarb. Tart and not too sweet.

Lavender jelly. Herbal and flowery, a little earthy.

Lemon and lime marmalade. Amazing on toast. Sweet, tart and tangy.

Orange and elderflower marmalade. Sweet, flowery and tangy.

Dandelion jelly. Tastes similar to honey.

The least unusual..sugar free raspberry.

Recipe : Jam tarts

Adapted from Jamie Oliver magazine

Sweet pastry

Makes about 24 tarts

250g all purpose flour

250g berry (castor) sugar or icing sugar

125g butter, softened

1 large egg

splash of milk

An assortment of your favourite jams or jellies (about 24 tsp) for filling

Put the flour, sugar and butter in a large bowl and rub together with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs. 

Add a pinch of salt, crack in the egg and begin to bring the pastry together with your hands, adding a little milk if needed. You should have a pastry that leaves the bowl clean. 

Form the pastry into a ball, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 400oF and roll out the pastry on a floured surface. Roll to about 1/4 inch thick.

Lightly grease a baking or shallow muffin tray and dust lightly with flour, shaking off the excess. 

Use a cutter or a glass to press out circles a little bigger than your baking tray and press each one into the holes of the tray. Repeat until you have filled up the tray. You will need to cook two batches, (depending on the size of your baking tray), so gather the remaining pastry dough into a ball and cover with cling wrap while the first batch is cooking.

Put a tsp of jam into each of the pastry cases and bake for about 12 - 15 minutes until the tarts are golden and the jam is bubbling hot. Remove from the tray, grease and flour again when cool enough to handle and repeat with the rest of the pastry and jams. 

It's important to let these firm a little in the tray before attempting to move them. Give them at least 20 minutes to cool and firm before removing to a wire rack. Also, they are best eaten when cooled or even refrigerated as we all know how molten-like jam can become when hot, so be careful.

Thinking forwards to Christmas parties and preparing appetizers and canapes, the thought of little savoury jam tarts crossed my mind....how about chili jelly and cheese or mint jelly with a little piece of lamb? Look for a future post coming soon...

Here it is....

 Savoury jam tarts