It is best to cut the butter into very small cubes before adding it to the flour, then quickly rub the flour and butter together in the palms of your hands. If you handle your butter too much while making pastry, it will melt into an oil, and the pastry will never be crisp. The texture should look like rough breadcrumbs and not be greasy in any way.
Mixing the sugar and egg together before adding them to the other ingredients helps the sugar to dissolve so it blends into the pastry quicker.
It is advisable not to add too much flour to your work surface when you are rolling the pastry. It is tempting to coat the surface with a generous dusting of flour but adding too much can cause the pastry to dry out. Instead, use the rolling pin very gently to nudge the pastry rather than pushing down on it and pressing into the pastry.
To finish the pastry lattice neatly, trim the excess strips to leave a little overhang at the edge of each mini tart. Fold this overhang, along with the edge of the base, tucking it under itself to create a seal then pinch or crimp the edge into place.
You can make the pastry ahead of time and keep it in the fridge, then assemble and bake the tarts on the day you want to serve them.
Brushing the tops of the tart with beaten egg will give a lovely golden shine to the pastry. It can also help to keep the sealed pastry at the edge stuck down.
These tarts will store well for a few days in an airtight container in a cool place. You can also freeze them if you wish.
In place of the apricot jam, you can use marmalade.
Orange and chocolate are always well matched so topping this with a layer of melted chocolate is delicious.
I add a spoon of butter to the chocolate so it does not fully firm up and is nicer to bite into with the pastry and jam.
Raspberry or strawberry jam works very well for open top tarts and the jam dries a little in the oven as it bakes creating a bake more similar to a biscuit than a filled tart.
Adding lime zest to the pastry gives a really nice zingy contrast to the sweet berry jam. Add the zest of two medium-sized limes when you are adding the sugar and egg mixture to the butter and flour.
Cherry jam is the perfect substitute for apricot in this recipe. I use a good quality jam that is a little runny rather than very set.
