QUEEN OF HEARTS JAM TARTS

PERFECT for baking beginners, these little jam tarts have crisp shortcrust pastry (made with a fraction more butter than usual to give a flakier pastry) filled with your favourite jam.

Makes 12 tarts

Kit you’ll need

7.5cm (3in) round, fluted pastry cutter 12-hole shallow bun tin Small heart-shaped cutter

For the shortcrust pastry

200g (7oz) plain flour 115g (4oz) chilled butter, diced

For the filling

12-18 rounded tsp jam or lemon curd (use different jam flavours such as strawberry, apricot and blackcurrant, for variety)

1 Tip the flour and butter into a large bowl. Rub in until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Gradually pour in just enough cold water (about 3 tablespoons) to bring the dough together and stir it in with a round-bladed knife to form a dough. Gently work the dough together into a smooth ball with your hands, being careful not to overhandle. (Or make in a food processor.)

2 Shape the dough into a thick disc, wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes, until firm but not hard. Preheat the oven to 190c/170c fan/375f/gas 5.

3 Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about the thickness of a £1 coin. Cut out 12 circles with the round cutter. Use these to line each hole of the bun tin. Gather the leftover pastry, gently form into a ball and re-roll. Cut out 12 heart shapes with the heart-shaped cutter.

4 Now you can fill your tarts. Put 1-1½ rounded teaspoonfuls of the jam or lemon curd into the bottom of each pastry circle and press it down lightly with the back of a teaspoon. Don’t be tempted to overfill the tarts or the jam will bubble over as it bakes. Sit a pastry heart on top of each. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the pastry is pale golden and cooked through.

5 Remove from the oven and let the tarts sit for a minute or two in the tin. Now remove them, using a palette knife, and transfer to a wire rack to cool.