Just in time for Mother’s Day, my mum decided to share a recipe she’s refined for forty years and countless trials: her jam tart.
She usually makes it with strawberry jam, but any jam or fresh fruit works. My twist? Strawberry jam + fresh strawberries + cinnamon sugar sprinkled on the shortcrust for a little extra flair.
I promise you’ll fall in love with it.
My mother insisted I learn her jam tart. How could I say no?
She was adamant. My mother wants her recipes passed on and replicated exactly. Could I refuse?
I work as a recipe developer — I test, measure to the gram, experiment and refine. When a recipe doesn’t work I taste, analyze and adjust until it does. But even I haven’t spent decades perfecting a single tart—my mother has.
A true recipe developer…
My mother is on another level: years of careful adjustments, weighing ingredients precisely and keeping her set of perfected recipes unchanged. In baking, small differences in humidity and temperature matter, so she treats her formulas like a science.
Her famous jam tart
At home my mum is traditional. Desserts follow the seasons—carnival brings fried pastries, Easter brings regional specialties—yet the jam tart is timeless. It’s the kind of dessert we keep on hand year-round and often give away. In our town everyone knows “my mum’s jam tart”.
She sometimes teases that I don’t appreciate her classics, but the truth is simple: when she looks away, I sneak a slice. 😉
How to make a jam tart, step-by-step
This recipe is very reliable — it’s hard to fail. The process is simple and can be summarized in four steps:
- Make the shortcrust pastry: combine the dry ingredients, add the eggs and cold butter, and work quickly so the butter doesn’t warm. Form a smooth dough, flatten into a disc and refrigerate (see recipe for timing). If you prefer a food processor, pulse until the dough comes together.
- Divide and shape: split the dough, roll or press one portion into your tart pan and reserve the rest for decoration.
- Fill: fill the pastry shell with jam (and fresh strawberries if you are making my version).
- Bake: bake until the crust is golden and the jam is set.
Note on adding fresh strawberries: if you use a shallow tart pan with a removable bottom you can use only jam. If you use a deep pan like mine, adding whole or halved fresh strawberries gives the tart more volume and a fresher balance.
Tips and secrets for a perfect jam tart
When my mum taught me her tart she also passed along several small but important tricks. Here are the essential tips:
- If you mix by hand, work the dough quickly so the butter stays cold and the pastry remains flaky.
- Don’t overwork the dough—too much handling makes it tough.
- Grated zest from organic lemon adds brightness. Keep whole lemons in the fridge until you need them, then clean them before zesting so they don’t pick up other odors.
- Add a level teaspoon of baking powder to make the pastry slightly more tender and crumbly.
- Never forget a pinch of salt—salt enhances flavor in all baked goods.
- Chill the pastry for at least 30 minutes, until firm but not rock-hard.
- Avoid jam that is excessively sweet; homemade jam or a good-quality jar with balanced sweetness works best. Remember the pastry already contains sugar.
- Use a non-stick tart pan and avoid greasing the surface to prevent sogginess.
- If possible, bake in a convection oven: it cooks the pastry faster and prevents the jam from darkening too much.
My version of the jam tart
- Use fresh strawberries along with jam for a balance of sweetness and bright acidity.
- Brush the pastry with beaten egg before adding lattice strips or edges so it takes on a rich golden color.
- Sprinkle a little cinnamon sugar on top (mix brown sugar with ground cinnamon)—cinnamon pairs wonderfully with strawberries.
Questions?
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below—I’ll be happy to reply!
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Mom’s Jam Tart (Crostata della Mamma)
A classic Italian jam tart made with shortcrust pastry and strawberry jam. Simple, reliable and perfect with fresh strawberries.
Ingredients (for a 24–26 cm tart)
- 360 g all-purpose flour (00)
- 115 g granulated sugar
- 200 g cold butter
- 1 whole egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 g salt
- 1 level teaspoon baking powder for pastries
- 1 packet vanilla powder (vanillina)
- Zest of one lemon
- Zest of one orange
- Approximately 250 g strawberry jam (preferably not overly sweet)
- Optional: fresh strawberries for filling or decoration
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (convection).
- In a bowl combine flour, vanilla, salt, baking powder, sugar and the citrus zests.
- Add the cold butter and the egg + yolk. Work quickly, by hand or in a food processor, just until the dough comes together into a smooth, non-crumbly disc. Do not overwork.
- Wrap and chill the dough for at least 30 minutes until firm.
- Press or roll out part of the dough into a tart pan (removable bottom or springform), keeping some dough for decorations.
- Fill the shell with strawberry jam (and fresh strawberries if using). If decorating with fruit on top after baking, you can blind-bake the base briefly, spread a thin layer of mashed banana with lemon to stabilize, then arrange fresh fruit once cooled.
- Brush pastry edges and decorations with beaten egg for color and, if desired, sprinkle a little cinnamon sugar on the exposed shortcrust.
- Bake in the convection oven for about 20 minutes until the pastry is golden and the jam is set. If using a static oven, baking time will be longer and the jam may darken more.
- Allow to cool before slicing and serving.
Notes
*If you divide the tart into 12 slices, estimated calories per slice are shown in the nutrition section below.
Nutrition (per slice, approx.)
Calories: 323 • Fat: 15 g • Carbohydrates: 45 g • Protein: 4 g
Nutritional information is an estimate and not guaranteed.
Love strawberries? Try strawberry ricotta muffins next — they’re a great companion to this tart.
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