Queenie Cooks: Early Spring Jam Tart
Thursday, May 5, 2011 at 07:00AM 
Spring is here! Sort of.
It may be gray and rainy outside, and we may still be weeks away from strawberry season, but I'm starting to get antsy for fruit. Berries, stone fruit, apples - you name it, I'm craving it. But there's not a whole lot out there for a local eater to enjoy. Here in New York, we don't even see ripe rhubarb till mid-May.
What to do, then, when you're in the mood for a fruity dessert? Why, I'm so glad you asked! My go-to solution is one I learned from the lovely Deb of Smitten Kitchen - make a jam tart.
Jam - good jam, at least - is summer kept year-round in a jar. Opening a jar of Bonne Maman's strawberry preserves always makes me smile and think of warm June afternoons, and spreading it on pastry? Makes me smile even bigger. You should definitely consider kicking it up a notch and combining different flavors to fill your tart - maybe peach and strawberry? Or apricot and raspberry? Go nuts - you know it can't possibly be bad.
Even better,if you're a canner, you probably have some amazing, homemade preserves hanging around, just begging to be baked into a tart. Summer's almost here again - you need to clear that space on the shelves for this year's crop, right? So what are you waiting for?
Early Spring Jam Tart
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup stone-ground cornmeal or polenta
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
9 tbs. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, whole
1 egg, separated
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups jam or marmalade
1 tbs. coarse-crystal or granulated sugar
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. In a food processor, pulse the butter and 1/2 cup sugar together until smooth. Add the egg and egg yolk along with the vanilla and pulse until combined. With the processor on, gradually add the flour mixture through the feed tube and mix until the dough just comes together.
Transfer about one-third of the dough to a lightly floured counter and shape it into a log about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until needed. If the shelves in your fridge are wire, place the log on a plate before putting in the fridge.
Transfer the remaining dough to a buttered 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Using your hands or the flat bottom of a measuring cup, press the dough evenly into the bottom. Press the dough up the sides to the rim of the pan and set the tart pan on a baking sheet. Refrigerate the dough-lined pan until firm, at least one hour.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spread the jam or marmalade evenly over the dough in the pan. Cut the chilled dough into very thin discs with a sharp paring knife. Arrange them slightly overlapped in concentric circles over the jam to form a top crust. (I used a square tart pan, so I did mine in rows, and let the jam peek out a bit.) Using a fork, beat the remaining egg white with a teaspoon of water until frothy; brush evenly over the tart lid and then sprinkle with1 tbs. of coarse sugar. Bake until the top crust is golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely before serving.
Keeps very well, wrapped tightly, at room temperature.
Serves 6-8.cooks 
Reader Comments (4)
Love this one- did it last year and have not yet pulled it out this season. Thanks for the reminder!
Thanks, TKTC! I was thinking about doing a Nutella-and-jam version...perhaps for tea tomorrow! It might be too much of a good thing, but I'm prepared for that.
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Thank you NAt
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