These super easy puff pastry jam tarts are so simple to make and the perfect little sweet treat with just 4 simple ingredients (and one of those is optional)! The simple combination of flaky, buttery shop-bought puff pastry and sweet jam are delightful and by baking the jam along with the pastry, it thickens and gets all, well, jammy!
These jam pastries are great for a sweet breakfast or brunch, picnics, lunchboxes or just a treat with a cuppa and you can make them ahead of time too.
Grab a sheet of puff pastry, your favourite jam – any flavour you like – and you’re pretty much there.
You’ll love these peach puff pastry tarts or try these classic jam tartlets too.
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Ingredients
You’ll need just 4 basic ingredients for these little jam tarts and one of those is optional. So simple.
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.
- Puff pastry: I used a square puff pastry sheet here. While I used Borgs brand for these photos, I do actually prefer Careme all butter puff, it just has a much better puff and flavour. Choose one you know and love.
- Jam: Can’t have jam puff pastry tarts without jam so pick your favourite, or choose a few. Anything from marmalade to lemon curd will work. I used raspberry jam here and a forest fruits jam but a strawberry jam, apricot jam or blueberry jam would be outstanding.
- Egg: You actually just need one egg yolk and mix it with a dash of milk or just water to get your egg wash. This gives the pastries a great golden shine.
- Icing sugar: Also known as powdered sugar or confectioners sugar, icing sugar is great for dusting over at the end but is totally optional.
How to make jam tarts with puff pastry
Yes, you can make jam tarts with puff pastry and here’s how you do it.
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
- Cut into squares: Grab a sharp knife and a chopping board and slice the puff pastry square up like a noughts and crosses board (into 9 equal squares).
- Cut the centre for the filling: Now use a 5cm / 2inch round cookie cutter and press down (photo 1) but don’t remove the circle – hold it down while removing the cookie cutter so that it stays in place.
- Dock: Docking just means to prick the pastry with a fork so that steam will release and prevent the pastry from puffing so you just want to prick the fork all over the circles in the centre, leaving the borders untouched (photo 2).
- Chill: Now just put the whole thing, chopping board and all, into the freezer for 20 minutes or so to get firm. This is a good time to turn the oven on.
Puff pastry needs to stay cold. I don’t take my puff pastry out of the freezer until right before I want to start using it. It just needs to soften enough that you can slice through it but don’t let it get super soft or the fat in the pastry will start to melt, affecting how much it rises. Make sure to work quickly.
- Egg wash: Lay out your cold pastry squares (they should be pretty firm from the freezer), leaving the circle centres in place, onto a large baking tray then use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash around the edges (photo 3).
- Add the jam: Dollop about 2 teaspoons of jam into the centre of each tart (photo 4). Don’t add too much jam or it will bubble over the sides of the pastry. If your jam is very thick though, you may be able to add an extra ½ to 1 teaspoon of jam.
- Bake: Now bake for 15-18 minutes.
I like to dust them with a little icing sugar once they’ve cooled and right before serving. Don’t serve these hot – warm will be fine but straight from the oven, the jam is like molten lava.
Storage
Store your puff pastry jam tarts in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for 3-4 days. They can be frozen too and thawed to enjoy later. The best way is to freeze them on a tray in the freezer then once solid, transfer them to an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Did you try this jam puff pastry tarts recipe?
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Ingredients
- 1 square puff pastry sheet, just barely thawed
- ½ cup jam (any flavour)
- 1 egg yolk mix with a teaspoon of milk or water
- 2 teaspoons icing sugar (powdered sugar) to dust
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- cutting board
- large baking sheet
Instructions
- Keeping the sheet of puff pastry dough on the plastic it came on or on a chopping board, slice the puff pastry square into 9 small equal squares.
- Use a 2 inch circle cookie cutter and press down in the middle of each square – cut all the way through but don’t separate the two pieces, just press down on the circle piece of dough in the centre as you lift the cookie cutter away.
- Use a fork to prick holes over that centre circle, then freeze the squares for 30 minutes. It’s important that they’re quite solid again before proceeding as puff pastry puffs better the colder it is when it goes into the oven. You can leave them in the fridge or freezer overnight at this point and bake them fresh, first thing in the morning if you like.
- Preheat the oven to 200C (1800C fan) / 395F. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
- Transfer the frozen puff pastry squares to the baking sheet at least 1 inch apart. Brush the egg wash around the edges – it doesn’t matter if you get a little over the circle section too but aim for the edges.
- Place 2 teaspoons of jam into the centre of each square.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes until deep golden brown around the edges. Be careful if handling them straight away as the jam will be like molten lava.
- Feel free to add just a touch more jam if any look a bit patchy, then allow to cool completely before serving. Dust with icing sugar and serve.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Can be made in a muffin tin as well. If using a muffin tin, first make sure the squares are large enough to have a bit of lip all the way around so they act like a cup. You will not need to score the centre with a cookie cutter but still make sure to prick the bases with a fork. You likely won’t be able to get much of an egg wash around the edges so they may not turn out quite as golden brown.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
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10 Comments on “Puff Pastry Jam Tarts”
They were easy to make. I used apricot preserves jam and cherry preserve jam. Instead of dusting with powdered sugar, I made a powdered sugar drizzle and drizzled over the top after they cooled. Baked at 400° for 15 minutes.
Not as tasty as homemade puff pastry dough, but a lot easier and quicker. Will make again.
So happy you love them. Try different puff brands if you can. There are some that are quite tasteless and others that are much better. An all butter puff will have better flavour.
An easy to make and very popular tart – I use quandong jam (quandong is an Australian native fruit, not sure if its available outside Australia, the jam is something like fig jam with a somewhat sarsaparilla edge to it, and a fantastic crimson colour that stains the bottom of the tart). Yum!
That sounds spectacular, Bruce. I need to try and get hold of some quandong jam to try it. Tell me, I see the black swan – are you in WA too?
Hi Marie,
Yes, Western Australia, in the country up near Geraldton, prime quandong territory! Had a big harvest in late autumn of wild quandongs. Last xmas I added a little nutmeg and mace to the jam for a xmasy taste, and some quandong leaves to garnish the plate – the tarts were all gone in minutes!
I have just used the last of the jam now to make some more for an event this evening, maybe with a cool rosé? Not sure I’ve yet found the right companion drink, although a chocolate stout goes well (Shipwreck Stout, from Lucky Bay Brewing in Esperance is very tasty).
Hello fellow West Aussie then. Sounds like you have a great palate. I hope you find the right drink to match them. I’ll be on the lookout for some quandong jam now that you’ve put it in my mind.
Made these yesterday for an afternoon tea (with plum jam) and they went down very well. Some people added a dollop of cream! Very easy recipe with spot-on instructions. Thankyou Marie.
Sounds like a lovely afternoon tea! Truly appreciate you dropping back to review 🙂
Loved this recipe. They were so tasty and easy to make and looked impressive. I had a spare sheet of defrosted pastry leftover from sausage rolls and your recipe arrived at the perfect time. My pastry puffed up beautifully due to your excellent tips and instructions. Thank you Marie. I love your recipes.
I’m so happy you love them, Helen. Thank you so much for dropping back to leave a review 🙂