The name says it all, doesn’t it? Jam tarts. Probably the most iconic food of children’s literature, immortalised in Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and they were a staple favourite of Blyton, appearing in two books that spring to mind at the moment, Five Run Away Together, and The Treasure Hunters.

The dustjacket of Jane Brocket’s Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer cook book. Taken from Amazon.

Once again I take my recipe from Jane Brocket, who if you recall was the inspiration for the Ginger biscuits I made last year. Her book, Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer was inspired by the food in Blyton’s books, but also include delicious treats from other series. Her jam tarts are easy to make and instructions easy to follow, so this is the perfect recipe for children!

If you want to bake some Blyton delights, I cannot recommend this book strongly enough, and gosh it’s a little hard to get hold of, but worth it! My copy is a second hand job from Amazon and I suggest you look under the ‘used’ section as ‘new’ means shelling out forty pounds, even though it would be a welcome addition to any Blyton bookshelf.

The Recipe 

You will need:

• 180 grams plain flour
• 60 grams icing sugar (however I used golden caster sugar which works just as well!)
• 120 grams butter
• 2 egg yolks or 1 egg yolk plus two tablespoons of water
• 1 jar (at LEAST 340 grams worth) of a jam of your choosing. I chose strawberry jam.

You will also need: 2 bun trays.

1. Sift flour and (icing) sugar into a bowl. Quickly rub butter in and then add enough liquid [the eggs or the egg and water] to make the pastry come together.  Then set aside to chill in fridge for at least half an hour.
2. Pre heat oven to gas mark 6/200 degrees celsius.
3.  Roll out pastry on floured surface.
4. Make [as many as] 16 to 18 rounds with a pastry cutter.
5. Chill again in the fridge for thirty minutes
6. When ready to bake, remove the trays from fridge and spoon a good teaspoon full of your chosen jam onto the centre of each pastry circle. Don’t be stingy but don’t over fill, either, otherwise the jam will bubble over.
7. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. [I left for more like twenty minutes however as Brocket advises you to wait until the cases are golden brown before removing from oven]
8. Allow tarts to cool in bun trays on wire racks before turning out of the tray.

Then your tarts should be ready to eat! Enjoy!