Fig Jam Tart (wheat free)*

Training: Body Pump



If yesterday was all about lunching and libraries, well today was all about baking and relaxing. Mr BBB and I had nothing on the agenda, aside from brunch, coffee and an afternoon Body Pump class.

I did, however, have a big container of homemade fig jam in our fridge, and our family coming over for dinner.

So, a fig jam dessert seemed kinda obvious. A fig jam tart to be precise.

It ended up being quite the challenging dessert, however,



probably because the pastry was soft, and extremely fragile.



Rather than roll the pastry out (which failed dismally) I opted to place sections into the tart  tin, then smooth it out as best as I could…



Until I had a soft pastry crust, albeit a little rough.



But then came the star of the show….



The homemade fig jam!

Which I then topped with the remaining pastry,



cut into strips to create a lattice effect.



Finished with a final strip around the outside to form a ‘border’.



Even though this was an extremely fiddly dessert given how fragile the pastry was…



I am so glad I persevered as the overall result was really effective,



albeit a little on the 'rustic' side.



So here it is ... my 'rustic jam tart'.



Baked for 30 minutes, until the pastry had turned golden brown.



Sweet, soft pastry…



That was almost short-bread like.



With a rich, sweet jam filling.

hehe and even the furry members of the BBB household were intrigued.



Let’s look a little closer….



busted my love :)      
        
Fig Jam Tart (wheat free)*

This tart is rustic in look, but delicate in texture. Although the pastry requires some TLC, the end result, a melt in your mouth jam tart, will make you forget the stress of working with the delicate dough.

• 180g softened butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup white spelt flour, sifted
• 1.5 cups GF plain flour, sifted
• 1.5 cups fig jam**
• 1 egg, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a loose-bottomed flute tart tin.
2. Beat sugar and butter until pale. Add vanilla, lemon zest and egg.
3. Slowly add flours and beat until combined.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently until smooth, then divide into 2 rounds. Wrap each in plastic wrap and chill for 15 minutes.
5. Remove a dough round from the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface. Gently lift the dough and place into the tart tin, using your fingers to smooth out across the bottom and up the sides.
6. Spoon the jam onto the dough.
7. Roll out the remaining dough into a large thin rectangle. Cut into 8-10 strips.
8. Lay 4 to 5 strips across the jam, then place the remaining strips in the opposite direction.
9. Gently roll the remaining pastry (the off-cuts) into a long sausage shape. Use this to create a border around the edge of the tart.
10. Brush with the beaten egg, then bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
11. Allow to cool then slice and serve.

* This tart does have a small amount of spelt flour, which I am aware is an old variety of wheat. I am able to tolerate spelt, however, unlike regular wheat flour. If you wanted to make this a 100% wheat-free tart, feel free to substitute the spelt flour for more GF flour or perhaps even coconut flour.

** I used fig jam in this recipe as I had an abundance, However, you could easily substitute fig jam for whatever jam you have in your pantry. I think this would work particularly nicely with peach or apricot jam!

What about you? Have you  got a favourite way to use jam?

Happy Baking :)