Poppyseed Jam Tarts

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Poppy Seed Jam Tarts

Here is a wonderful recipe for Jam Tarts, to accompany your afternoon tea.  They are easy to make, although they do require a little pre-planing, but they are well worth the effort.


Poppy Seed Jam Tarts


1 C butter, softened
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract (I sometimes use almond)
3 T poppy seeds
2 1/2 to 2 3/4 C all-purpose flour
1 C jam of your choice (I prefer raspberry, or lemon curd if I use lemon extract)

Icing

1 C confectioners sugar
About 2 T heavy cream


In large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating until the mixture is well combined.  Add poppy seeds and gradually beat in enough of the flour to make a moderately stiff dough.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Spray sixteen 2 3/4 by 1 inch deep tartlet pans with cooking spray (I use crisco).  Cut the dough into 16 equal pieces.  Roll each piece into a ball.  Using your fingers, press the balls into rounds, then gently press into the prepared tartlet pan (or miniature muffin pan), leaving an indentation in the center of the tarts for the filling.  Fill each center with 1 T of the jam.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges are golden brown.  Cool in the pans on wire racks.  Carefully remove the tarts from the pans.

To make the icing:

In a small bowl, stir together the confectioners' sugar and just enough cream to make the icing pourable.  Drizzle over cooled tarts.

Here are the tarts as I was filling them:

Ready to go into the oven:

The finished tarts gracing the tea table!