Jam Oysters

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When I made my declaration about not doing any more fancy eating posts for a while, I had forgotten about these delicious little jam tarts I had baked the other day for the Royal Occasion. Nevermind, it may be too late for the wedding, but this fabulous recipe is sure to come in handy for any tea party/special occasion you have in mind that you want something a tiny bit special for.  Jam Oysters.  Sounds funny to you I am thinking, a name like Jam Oysters.  But let me explain . . .

They are really only jam tarts.  Fancy jam tarts.  Little almond frangipane filled short crust pastry tarts that you bake until the frangipane is golden brown and then the magic happens . . .

You take the tip of a sharp knife and carefully remove the frangipane once the tarts have cooled, taking care to keep it intact. You then fill the baked and now empty tart shells with a portion of raspberry jam, and a layer of  piped vanilla buttercream. At the end you pop that frangipane layer back on top and dust with icing sugar.  I suppose it looks a bit like an opened oyster shell, but with what is a much tastier filling than an oyster . .  in my honest opinion.

They look quite pretty on a tea table  . . . and are just that tiny bit more special than a plain old jam tart.

They are as light as air  . . .  and oh so tasty.  Use a good raspberry jam for this. If you don’t have homemade, us a good storemade one, which in my case is always Bon Maman.  And not just because of the jar . . .

Although to be sure that little gingham red and white cap draws me like an ocean siren draws a sailor.  I just love Bon Maman preserves, both the contents and the jars. So pretty and pretty tasty!

I thought they looked quite pretty balanced on top of these little Jenny Wren egg cups . . .  just like the little Jenny’s are about to take to the air with their sweet little surprises  . . . 

Such pretty little birds . . .  such pretty little cakes  . . .

Incredibly tasty too and sure to be a big hit at your next soiree!  I have given recipes for the tarts as well as the pastry (a sweet shortcrust) and for the buttercream.  YUM! 

*Jam Oysters*
Makes 18 

Printable Recipe 

Not only are these a real treat for the eyes, but they are delicious as well. They look complicated but they really are very easy to put together.

175g  of prepared shortcrust pastry (make your own or use ready made) (1/2 pound)

Few drops of almond essence

*Rich Sweet Shortcrust Pastry*
makes 1/2 pound 

 

The best way to make shortcrust pastry that has a crisp crumble in the mouth texture is to do it by hand, rather than by machine. Using a  machine tends to overwork the gluten in the flour and the pastry has a tendancy to end up springy and shrink when cooked..  Resting the pastry for a half hour in the fridge is also an important step because of the high proportion of butter to flour, which makes it difficult to roll out when warm. 

280g plain flour (2 cups)
4 ounces cold butter (1/2 cup)
6 TBS icing sugar, sifted
2 egg yolks
2 TBS water 

Sift the flour into a basin. Add the butter, cut into pieces and rub it into the flour until it resembled fine dry bread crumbs. Add the icing sugar. Whisk in well. Make a indentation in the centre of the butter mixture. Beat the egg yolks and water together. Pour into the indentation and then, using a fork, mix together to a rough dough in the basin. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for a few minutes until smooth. Shape into a ball and then place into a zip lock bag. Place in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes, while you make the filling.  Proceed as per the recipe requirements for whichever recipe that you are using to fill the tart with. 

*Perfect Vanilla Buttercream Icing*
Makes enough to fill and frost a layer cake

225g butter, softened (1 cup)
390g icing sugar, sifted (3 cups, confectioners, powdered)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 to 2 TBS double cream 

Beat the butter and sugar together on low until well blended and then continue to beat on mdeium for another few minutes until it begins to become fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and 1 TBS cream, only adding the second one if needed until you have a frosting of spreading consistency.