Rachel Khoo: Queen of Tarts

Like its breakfast companion Marmite, jam seems to divide the crowds. In many of its mass-produced guises, it seems barely acquainted with the fruit named on the jar, tasting mostly of sugar.

But Lillie O’Brien’s preserve shop, London Borough of Jam on Chatsworth Road in Hackney, is proving that fruity jams don’t have to be tooth-achingly sweet. The former pastry chef at the much acclaimed St John Bread and Wine is making her mark with both her unusual flavour pairings and her focus on the essence of a good jam: excellent fruit. O’Brien’s pickled strawberry jam inspired the revival of this classic recipe in my home. Every good jam tart deserves the finest preserve.

JAM TARTS

Makes 6

90g soft butter

1 tsp caster sugar

Pinch of salt

180g plain flour

2 egg yolks

2 tbsp ice-cold water

1 jar good quality jam

Icing sugar, to dust

First, make the pastry. Using a wooden spoon, beat together the butter, sugar and salt until soft and creamy. Mix in the flour followed by the egg yolks and 2 tbsp ice-cold water. Bring together to make a smooth ball, adding a little more water if the pastry is too crumbly (only knead as much as necessary to bring the dough together). Wrap the dough in clingfilm and refrigerate for a minimum of an hour (best overnight).

Preheat the oven to 180C. Remove the pastry from the fridge 30 minutes before using. Roll out the pastry between two sheets of baking paper to 5mm thick.

Butter six holes of a muffin or cupcake tin. Using a 7.5cm cookie cutter, cut out six rounds of pastry and line the holes of the tin. If you have time, place the tin in the freezer for 10 minutes (it helps to stop the pastry from shrinking). Add 1 tbsp jam to each tart case. Then use the remaining pastry to cut out six small stars, freestyle or with a cookie cutter. Place a star on top of each tart.

Bake for 15 minutes, until bubbly and light golden. Leave to cool on a wire rack and dust with icing sugar before serving.