Perfectly bite-sized jam tarts, with 15-minute chia jam and tender gluten and dairy free pastry. Chia seeds have the ability to absorb liquid fast, which allows them to set syrupy fruit to a delicious jam-like consistency. Ideal for filling tart cases and topping with very cute pastry hearts this Valentine’s.
As always, gluten-free pastry is best rested overnight in the fridge before rolling out. Frozen blueberries, strawberries and raspberries all work really well for making the jam.
Makes 16 jam tarts
Ingredients
160g gluten free plain flour
40g ground almonds
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
100g unsalted dairy free butter
1 ½ tablespoons icing sugar
1 medium free-range egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons lactose-free milk or almond milk
For the chia jam:
230g frozen blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1 medium free-range egg, for egg wash, or a splash of milk
Method
Start the pastry the day before. Add the gluten free flour, ground almonds, xanthan gum and salt into a bowl and stir with a fork to combine. Add the butter to the flour mixture and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Sift over and stir through the icing sugar. Whisk the egg and vanilla extract together and stir the liquid into the flour mixture, little by little, distributing it as quickly as possible with a cutlery knife. You might not need all of the liquid, so see how you go. If you need any more, add a teaspoon of milk at a time. Use the flat of the knife to bring the dough together, then pull the pastry together with your hands, tip out onto cling film and shape into a disc. Wrap tightly and chill in the fridge overnight.
To make the chia jam, add the frozen fruit to a saucepan and set over a medium heat. Cook the fruit until it breaks down and becomes syrupy, roughly 7-8 minutes. Use the back of a wooden spoon to encourage it. Take the pan off the heat and stir through the maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir through the chia seeds and let the jam stand for about 5 minutes. It won’t quite reach the consistency of regular jam, but it will noticeably thicken (and set more once completely chilled).
Pour into a sterilised jar and allow to cool to room temperature. Place in the fridge to chill completely. Use within a week.
To make the tarts, preheat the oven to 200ºC/180ºC fan. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to 3mm thick. Using a round fluted cutter and small heart cutters, cut out 16 bases and a few hearts for decoration. Place the bases into a shallow bun tin and put a heaped teaspoon of chia jam into each. Top the jam with a pastry heart or two, then glaze the tops with the beaten egg, or a splash of milk.
Bake the tarts for 15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown on top and feels sandy underneath to the touch. Place the tarts on a wire rack to cool.
Why not dig in to Emma's Vegan Mac and Cheese with Crispy Kale
