Quick Jam Tart

My roommate accused me of having first world problems.

It all started when I walked out into the living room while he was studying. I started pulling out bowls and ingredients. I'm sure I was noisy.

He asked me what I was making.

"Well, I've got this one leftover pie crust," I began, quite seriously. "And it's about to go bad because I've already had it in the fridge for a few days. I totally forgot to freeze it. I've got to use it today. So I'm baking a jam tart, just so I can use it up. And because I have this extra jar of jam that's just been sitting around waiting to be put to use."

It was at that moment that he told me I had first world problems. You know, those problems that really aren't problems. When it's hard to find a movie you want to watch on Watch Instant on Netflix. When you run out of flour and don't want to walk to the 24 hour grocery store one block away to get it. When the coffee shop you stop at only has regular iced coffee instead of cold-brewed iced coffee. When you don't want to put on your hat (even though it's winter and really cold) because you like the way your hair looks, so you walk around freezing.

Or when you have a leftover pie crust and just have to bake something to use it up.

Yeah, life is tough.

Luckily this tart isn't at all. You pat a pie dough into a tart pan. Yes, you pat it. With your hands. No rolling pin needed. Spread a jar of jam you love on top. Top with more pie crust. Sprinkle with heavy cream and sugar. Bake. Slice. Enjoy.

Best of all, you only dirty one pan, one spoon and a bit of counter. Perfect for those of us who don't have a dishwasher.


Quick Jam Tart
recipe adapted from David Lebovitz

I used just one leftover pie crust, which was stretching it, so two would probably be ideal. This tart would easily serve 8 or 10 for dessert. It was delicious with a bit of lightly sweetened, fresh whipped cream and a scoop of vanilla gelato.

Ingredients
Leftover pie crust
1 3/4 cups jam (I used strawberry because that's what I had)
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Coarse raw sugar for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Allow the pie crust to come to room temperature. Press the dough into the bottom of an unbuttered tart pan with a removable bottom, patting it down evenly.

Spread the jam over the dough.

With the remaining dough, cover the jam (I rolled the dough out and cut out little petals. David covered his tart with a full pie crust top. Totally up to you).

Sprinkle heavy cream over the top of the pie, followed by coarse raw sugar.

Bake until the tart is golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. Allow the tart to cool completely before serving. Serve at room temperature.