FOOLPROOF PICNIC: 60 delightful dishes to enjoy outdoors by Marina Fillippelli (Qaudrille) Photography: Laura Edwards
Jam Lattice Tart
Tarts like this were a staple when I was growing up in Italy, either homemade or bought from the local pasticceria
Call it nostalgia, but sitting on a blanket eating a slice of jam (fruit preserve) tart, while trying to avoid getting any on my t-shirt makes me feel five years old again.
Serves
10
Prep
30 mins + chilling
Cook
40–45 mins
Ingredients
- 300g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 85g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
- pinch of salt
- 150g unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
- grated zest of ½ unwaxed orange
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten, plus 1 egg, beaten, for glazing
- 500g of your jam of choice
Method
- For the pastry, put the flour, sugar and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the dry ingredients are well combined. Add the butter and orange zest and pulse again, until the butter is incorporated and the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Finally, add the two lightly beaten eggs and pulse until the dough comes together. If it’s still too crumbly, add one tablespoon of cold water, in stages, until the dough just comes together. Tip the dough out of the mixer and shape into two discs, one slightly larger than the other. Wrap in cling film (plastic wrap) and chill for one hour until firm.
- Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/400F/gas 6 and place a baking sheet in the oven to heat up. On a lightly floured worktop, roll out the larger pastry disc to 0.5cm thick and use to line a 23cm fluted tart tin. Trim the edges and bring together all the trimmings, wrap again and chill. Place the lined tart tin in the fridge to chill.
- Now roll out the remaining pastry disc in the same way, this time on a sheet of baking paper. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut out 2cm wide strips. Repeat with the chilled pastry trimmings, to give you more strips. You’ll need about 14 in total. Slide a baking sheet under the baking paper to help carry the strips to the fridge, to chill for 15 minutes.
- Remove the chilled pastry case and strips from the fridge. Spoon the jam into the pastry case, evening it out with the back of a spoon. Now add your lattice. Weave the strips of pastry evenly over the jam to create a lattice pattern and push them into the edge of the tart. Trim away the overhanging pastry. Use the remaining lightly beaten egg to brush the top of the lattice.
- Transfer the tart to the oven, sitting it on the heated baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 170C (150C fan)/325F/gas 3 and bake for a further 30–35 minutes until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling.
- Remove the tart from the oven and sit it on a wire rack to cool completely. To take the tart to the picnic, dust it with icing sugar, then wrap it loosely in baking paper and carry it on a tray, board or large platter.
FOOLPROOF PICNIC: 60 delightful dishes to enjoy outdoors by Marina Fillippelli (Qaudrille) Photography: Laura Edwards
