Jam tarts are a classic British teatime bake. Made with buttery short crust pastry rounds and filled with various fruit jams, marmalades and lemon curd. This vegan version is fun, easy and tastes just like the classic childhood treat!
Thank you Thermapen for sponsoring this recipe!
The best recipes to share or give as gifts are the ones that people assume took you ages and required a lot of skill but were actually quite easy and fun to make.
This is one of those recipes. Yes, even with homemade jam.
The other thing that people won't suspect from these tarts is that they're completely vegan but taste just like you remember them as a child!
I chose to use just strawberry jam in this recipe but you can use your favourite or perhaps a variety of jams.
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These tarts are a great recipe to make with kids, other than the jam-boiling part.
But making the pastry dough and topping the cases with dollops of jam is a lot of fun.
Ingredients
- Plain flour
- Corn starch
- Caster sugar
- Dairy-free butter - I recommend Naturli, Vitalite or Earth Balance Buttery
- Jam - Shop-bought or homemade recipe (see below)
Step by step
Find the full recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1: Prepare
Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a shallow bun tin.
Step 2: Make the dough
Mix the flour, sugar, corn starch and pinch of salt to a large bowl. Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips.
Add a bit of cold water until you have a firm dough.
Step 3: Cut out the tart shells
Roll the pastry out to about 3mm/1⁄8in thick and cut out rounds using a round 10cm/4in fluted pastry cutter. Place into the tray and gently pat down the middle.
Step 4: Fill with jam and bake!
Fill each pastry shell with a generous teaspoon of jam.
Bake for 15 minutes and carefully remove from the oven and leave to cool before serving.
Keep in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.
Homemade Strawberry Vanilla Jam
There are two options for this recipe:
- Use homemade (recipe below)
- Use shop bought
I love the excuse to make some homemade jam, plus it's so much quicker than you might expect. This jam was ready in under an hour.
Follow my simple recipe below if you want to make it from scratch.
Jam Ingredients
- Strawberries
- Jam sugar - sugar with added pectin, perfect for berries
- Vanilla extract
- Vegan butter - optional
You will also need:
- A large pot
- Thermometer (preferably)
- Jam jars with seals
- Ladle
Jam Step By Step
A visual guide to making jam at home!
Step 1: Add ingredients to the pot
Add the strawberries to a large saucepan and mash with a potato masher until mushy.
Pour in the jam sugar and cook on a medium heat, until the sugar is dissolved. Don't let it boil yet.
Step 2: Boil
Once the sugar has dissolved, bring to a boil. Use a thermometer to check the temperature reaches between 103-106C then remove from the heat.
Stir in the vanilla and vegan butter, if using.
Step 3: Jar
Pour straight into some sterilised jam jars and seal.
It will be ready to use straight away for the jam tarts recipe but for spreading on toast, scones etc. - leave to set overnight and keep in the fridge once opened.
More British Baking Treats
📖 Recipe
Easy Vegan Jam Tarts
A very easy recipe for making jam tarts from scratch, including the jam! But feel free to use shop-bought jam instead, for ease.
Ingredients
Strawberry Vanilla Jam
- 800 g / 1.7 lbs strawberries, hulled
- 1 kg / 2.2 lbs jam sugar (sugar with added pectin, perfect for berries)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp vegan butter (can omit, if preferred)
Shortbread tart crusts
- 250 g / 8.8 oz plain flour
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 30 g / 1 oz caster sugar
- A tiny pinch of salt
- 140 g / 5 oz dairy-free butter
- 2-4 tbsp cold water
Instructions
To make the jam:
- Add the strawberries to a large saucepan and mash with a potato masher until mushy.
- Pour in the jam sugar and cook on a medium heat, until the sugar is dissolved. Don't let it boil yet.
- Once the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat up high and bring to boiling. Use a thermometer to check the temperature reaches between 103-106C then remove from the heat.*
- Stir in the vanilla and vegan butter.
- Pour straight into some sterilised jam jars and seal.
- It will be ready to use straight away for the below recipe but for spreading on toast, scones etc. - leave to set overnight and keep in the fridge once opened.
To make the tart shells:
- Preheat oven to 180C.
- Grease a shallow bun tin with some vegan butter or vegetable oil.
- Add the flour to a large bow and stir in the corn starch, sugar and a pinch of salt. Add the butter and rub it into the flour with your finger tips.
- Add a couple of tablespoons of cold water until you have a firm dough that holds it's shape without crumbling. If necessary, you can chill it in the fridge or freezer before cutting out the tart shells.
- Roll the pastry out on a flour-dusted surface to about 3mm/1⁄8in thick and cut out rounds using a 10cm/4in fluted or plain round pastry cutter. Place the pastry rounds into the tray and gently pat down the middle.
- Fill each pastry shell with a generous teaspoon of jam and then bake for 15 minutes, until the jam is bubbling and the pastry is turning a light golden brown.
- Carefully remove from the oven and leave to cool for at least 10 minutes but preferably until completely cooled.
- Enjoy! Keep in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
*If you don't have a thermometer, you can use the wrinkle test, outlined here.
Ana Claverie says
I will try it in Argentina! ❤
Bing @MomFoodBlog says
This looks yummy. The colors of the jam tart is so appealing and you provided easy instructions to follow. Keep up the great work!
Joshua Howard says
Thank you for the recipe and clear instruction! These tarts were really easy to make!