Today I want to share with you all a Valentine’s themed recipe: vegan chia jam tarts. I am not actually a massive celebrator of Valentine’s day, it really is just an excuse to make some sort of cute, pink baked good and I love it for that! So whether you are having an elaborate Valentine’s day, a Galentine’s day or whether you aren’t acknowledging it at all, these chia jam tarts are a delightful healthy treat for any occasion.
The chia jam in these tarts is made with fresh fruit and little sugar while the pastry is only a bit of flour and coconut oil so they really are an easy, healthy bake. I wanted to have a go at using vegan pastry for this recipe, but of course you can make it with normal butter pastry if you wish too.
Vegan Pastry
This pastry is just as easy as normal pastry to make and tastes delicious! It is made vegan by an easy swap from butter to coconut oil, the coconut oil actually adds a lovely taste to the pastry and it still results in a lovely flakey crust. If you are scared about making pastry, don’t be, it is easy once you get the hang of it and is a good skill to have. If you are scared about doing it yourself, you can use a food processor to simplify things.
Gluten Free Pastry
Making this pastry gluten-free is super easy with a few tweaks. Use a good quality, 1:1 gluten-free flour and add 1 tsp of xanthan gum. This helps with the elasticity of the pastry. Your water requirement may also change slightly, so add the water gradually until it just comes together.
Chia Jam
I shared my recipe for chia jam recently and this is what I am using in my tarts. If you want to get prepped beforehand, I recommend making the jam the day before and leaving it in the fridge overnight. I used three different flavours of jam this time but you really can use any berries that you have/fancy!
The Recipe
You will need a bun tray for this recipe, which is basically a shallower muffin tin. If you don’t have one or can’t find one, you can use a regular muffin tin and just fill the holes halfway with your tarts. You will also need circular and heart shaped pastry cutters and a rolling pin.
Chia Jam Tarts
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup Butter or Coconut oil
- 6 tbsp Cold Water
- 2 cups Plain Flour or gluten-free flour
- 1 cup Chia Jam
- 1 tsp Xanthan gum if using gluten-free flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180c/350f.
- Pulse the flour, coconut oil/butter and xanthan gum (if using) in a food processor until a crumb forms. Alternatively, knead by hand in a bowl.
- Gradually add in the water, mixing/blending in between, using just enough until the dough comes together in a ball. Wrap in to plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough out with a floured rolling pin until around 1/4 inch or 1 cm thick.
- Using a round pastry cutter slightly larger than the diameter of your bun tin holes, cut out 12 rounds for the base of your tarts. Then cut out 6 smaller rounds. Use a small heart cutter to cut out hearts from the centre of these rounds and you will end up with 12 tops.
- Press the larger rounds down in to the holes of the tin using your fingertips.
- Add 1-2 tsp of chia jam to each hole – be sure not to overfill or they will spill out in the oven!
- Place the hearts or heart cut outs on top and press down lightly. Pop the tray in the oven for 20-30 minutes until cooked. Pastry made with coconut oil is less inclined to browning than pastry made with butter, so don't worry if it doesn't look very golden!
- Remove from the oven and use a knife to pop them out of their holes to cool on a rack.
I hope you guys enjoy this recipe, whether it is for Valentine’s day, a treat to take to a party or simply a treat for yourself! If you make it, please let me know down below what you think and tag in me in your creations on Instagram @essentially.emma
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