Jam Puff Pastry Delights
Photos by Simon Lambert
Makes: 12 pastries
Prep time: 15 minutes (plus 30 minutes freezing)
Cooking time: 18–20 minutes
Skill level: Easy
Ingredients
1 square puff pastry sheet, just thawed
100g jam (any flavour you love – raspberry, apricot, plum all work)
1 egg yolk
1 tsp milk or water
2 tsp icing sugar, to dust
Method
Place the partially thawed puff pastry on a chopping board. Cut into 9 equal squares using a sharp knife.
Use a 3cm (approx) round cookie cutter to press into the centre of each square. Cut through the pastry but don’t remove the circle.
Prick the centre circle of each square several times with a fork (This keeps stops the middle rising when baking).
Transfer the squares to a tray and freeze for 30 minutes. (You can also chill overnight and bake fresh in the morning.)
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan).
Line a baking tray with paper. Arrange the frozen pastry squares at least 2.5cm apart.
Mix the egg yolk with the milk or water, then brush around the edges of each square.
Spoon 2 teaspoons of jam into the centre circle of each square.
Bake for 15–20 minutes, or until the pastry is deeply golden and puffed.
Cool completely before dusting with icing sugar.
Quick Tips: Jam Puff Pastry Squares
For the best rise, keep the pastry very cold — even a short 20-minute freeze makes a difference.
Don’t overfill with jam , 2 teaspoons is plenty; it spreads as it bakes.
Once cooled, add a touch more jam if needed, then dust with icing sugar just before serving for a glossy, professional look.
These freeze beautifully unbaked. Bake straight from frozen, adding 5 minutes to the cooking time. Enjoy!
Recipes by Alison Lambert
