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These adorable Scandinavian Raspberry Jam Tarts are mixed up with just one bowl and no mixer needed. No one will know how easy they are as they taste as though they came from a fine, fancy European bake shop!
This Scandinavian Raspberry Jam Tarts recipe is SO easy to put together with just one bowl, no mixer necessary. But, as the little blurb up above says, they taste (and look) like they were flown on a magic carpet from a fine, fancy lagkagehuset (bakery in Denmark). Or a brödbutik (bakery in Sweden). Or a konfektbutikk (bakery in Norway). I think you get the picture... one bite of these fabulous little European-inspired tarts and you'll be over-the-moon smitten!
The ingredient list for these Scandinavian Raspberry Jam Tarts is very similar to those included in many classic shortbread recipes; butter, sugar, flour and vanilla. Where this recipe diverges is with the addition of baking powder which gives the tarts a lighter texture without changing the sweet, buttery flavor. We also sub a portion of the all-purpose flour with almond flour and a scoop of cornstarch. These, combined with a splash of almond extract are the secrets to that fine European flavor you'll discover with the first bite of these heavenly little treats.
Ridiculously Easy
Why do we call this Scandinavian Raspberry Jam Tarts recipe ridiculously easy?
Well, there are actually several reasons. The dough comes together quickly with just one bowl and no mixer needed. Then, scoop it up into paper-lined muffin cups and make a small indention in the center (which will later cradle the raspberry jam.)
When the tarts emerge from the oven, reinforce the indention then let them cool.
Give the golden tarts a sprinkle of powdered sugar and the final "ta-da!" is a small spoonful of raspberry jam in the center!
See what I mean, easy! Ridiculously easy! And pretty as a picture!
We actually have a whole collection of these Ridiculously Easy recipes which are super popular with so many people living busy lifestyles. You can read more about our Ridiculously Easy recipe in this post and check out the whole collection here but my super concise definition for this category is, "the recipes that make you (and me) look like a kitchen rock star with minimal effort on your (or my) part."
A perfect pairing!
Although these little tarts could be made with any kind of jam, rapsberry is a fabulous pairing with the sweet almond-flavored tart shell. I like to use our super easy, Raspberry Freezer Jam (you can make it with fresh or frozen berries!). It's a beautiful vibrant color and retains the flavor of fresh berries.
Any time of day!
Although these tarts are called Scandinavian Raspberry Jam Tarts if I want to make them legal for breakfast, I call them Scandinavian Raspberry Jam Tea Cakes. That sounds a bit more proper, don't you think?
Seriously, these sweet little confections are great any time of day. They'd be a beautiful offering for a brunch with family or friends. They also are a lovely morning or afternoon snack to have with a cup of coffee or tea. They'd make a fabulous treat to take to work as you'd be sure to make some fast friends. And if you serve them for dessert, just make sure to make plenty as they will disappear faster than you can say "Scandinavian Raspberry Jam Tarts"!
Wish we sit together, sip tea, chat and nibble on Scandinavian Raspberry Jam Tarts... but since that's probably not going to happen, make a batch yourself, invite a friend or two and enjoy a morning, afternoon or evening sweet treat!
Café Tips for making these Scandinavian Raspberry Jam Tarts
- This recipe calls for almond flour. Note that there is a difference between almond flour and almond meal. Almond flour is finely-ground, blanched (no skins) almonds. Almond meal is ground almonds (with skins) and is much coarser than almond flour. These tarts will not be as delicately textured or as pretty if you use almond meal.
- Almond flour can be kind of pricy if you purchase it at your local grocery store. I find it's much more reasonable at big-box stores like Sam's Club and Costo. The online price is also reasonable.
- You'll need a regular 12-cup muffin pan for this recipe. I really like this OXO Good Grip Muffin Pan. I've had mine for several years, use it frequently and it still looks new.
- You'll need to divide this dough into 12 fairly even portions. You may be great at eyeballing equal portions. Me, not so much - in fact, I'm horrible at it. So I use my handy little kitchen scale to help me. I weigh the total amount of dough and then divide it by 12. Next, I scoop up the portions, knowing exactly how much each should weigh. You can roll the dough portions into balls at this point, if desired, but I just press them into my retractable ice cream scooper and drop them into my muffin pan.
- Cornstarch is one of the ingredients in this recipe. You might be wondering why. I think cornstarch is a magical ingredient in many baked goods. I've discovered it not only works to reduce spreading, but it also helps create a crumbly, chewy and tender texture. I use cornstarch in many of my shortbread recipes and sometimes in scone recipes.
- I like to bake these Scandinavian Raspberry Jam Tarts in plain white cupcake papers and then slip them into a colorful cupcake paper when serving for a pretty presentation.
Thought for the day:
Let us then, with confidence,
draw near to the throne of grace,
that we may receive mercy
and find grace to help in times of need.
Hebrews 4:16
What we're listening to for inspiration:
If you enjoy this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review! It’s so helpful to other readers to hear your results, adaptations, and ideas for variations.
- 1 cup very soft butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup almond flour not almond meal
- ¼ cup corn starch
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons raspberry jam
- powdered sugar for dusting
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Line a sheet pan with foil with foil extending over the edges of the pan. Set both pans aside.
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Combine the butter and powdered sugar in a medium-large bowl. Stir until creamy and smooth. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix until incorporated then add the baking powder and salt and stir again.
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Add the almond flour and cornstarch. Stir until no dry particles remain. Add the flour and stir, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl until all of the flour is incorporated and the dough comes together. It will be a fairly stiff dough.
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Divide the dough into 12 approximately even portions. I like to use a scale for this but you can also eyeball it. Using a retractable ice cream scooper, drop each portion into one of the prepared muffin cups. If you don’t have a scooper, you can roll each portion into a ball and drop them into the prepared pan with the liners.
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Using a teaspoon or the bottom of your scooper (or any kitchen tool that has an end that’s about an inch in diameter) press indentations in the center of each dough ball. These will be reinforced after baking so don’t worry about getting them perfect at this point.
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Place the muffin pan on the foil-lined sheet pan and transfer to the oven. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the tarts are a light golden brown. If the sides of the tarts seem to be getting too brown before the tops brown, bring the foil up around the edges of the muffin pan.
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Remove the tarts from the oven and reinforce the indentations that you made before baking. Allow the tarts to cool in the pan for 15 minutes then remove them to a cooling rack.
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When completely cool, sprinkle the tart shells with powdered sugar then fill the indentations with raspberry jam. I use about 1½ teaspoons of jam per tart. If not serving within a few hours, wait until before serving to add the jam.
See Café Tips above in the post for more detailed instructions and tips to ensure success.
If you prefer to use Metric measurements there is a button in each of our recipes, right above the word “Instructions”. Just click that button to toggle to grams, milliliters, etc. If you ever come across one of our recipes that doesn't have the Metric conversion (some of the older recipes may not), feel free to leave a comment and I will add it.
Kathleen Armstrong says
These look like so much fun to make. I'm going to bake some today. I have a friend whose family is visiting from Zimbabwe and I always bake several things for her when she has family in town. This will be one of the recipes I will use. Please send the labels. They always make the delivery boxes look really special.
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
That's great, Kathleen! We do not have labels for this recipe at this time.
lori bridgewater says
Pretty and seem easy enough. Cant wait to try and would love the labels for jam also. Look like a nice gift to give our senior shut ins at church. Thank you.
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Enjoy, Lori!
Kari says
What is the point of lining the under tray with foil? Thanks
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Hi Kari, it's just to make clean up easy incase some of the tarts spill over while they are baking.
DoLee Spurgeon says
Are these supposed to rise. I unfortunately used those stiff pretty little cups , more like light cardboard. Your picture shows them almost to the top of the cupcake papers. Mine are barely half way up the cups. I’ve baked them for 20 minutes and they haven’t even begun to turn golden. As I was making them for my book club tonight. I had hoped they would look like your beautiful ones. I did get exactly 12 scoops. I baked them an additional 2 minutes. They are still the color of the raw dough and are pretty squishy. Afraid to bake any longer. Do the end up crispy when cool.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi DoLee, I'm so sorry you're having trouble with these. The dough will rise a little but not a lot. If you look at the picture of the raw dough above, you'll note that the dough scoops should pretty much fill the little cupcake papers. Then when you make the indentations, the dough rises up the sides of the cup a little more. It will swell a bit in the oven which is why you need to reinforce the indentations.
I'm not sure why your dough isn't getting a golden hue. I would try baking them a little longer until you see a color change.. It may be a difference in ovens.
Diana says
Hey DoLee,
I had the same issue with my dough still looking raw and not browning at all, even after 4 or 5 extra minutes. I made a double batch as I mistakenly thought these were mini muffin cups. My Second dozen I eliminated the cookie sheet and foil and they browned nicely at the suggested max cooking time. The first dozen were kind of raw on the bottom but were tasty. It is a rather large serving, I may try again using a mini muffin tin. I am considering to make these for the cookie table at my nieces wedding . They are very pretty. I found a peach, raspberry champagne jam that was delicious with the cookie cup.
Loretta says
Hi, just made these as described and they are delicious but dense/ crunchy. Personally, that works for me butI was expecting something “softer”. Did I do something wrong or are they more of a “thumbprint” style cookie. Delicious either way though and crazy easy!!!loretta
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Loretta, I don't think you did anything wrong. The crust or "tart" should be crisp on the outside and somewhat softer inside. This is more like a cookie than a cake.
Dorothy Larson says
These look absolutely delicious and I plan to make them soon. Somehow, I find myself wanting to add a spoonful of some kind of cream/pudding mixture into the tart before topping with the jam. Perhaps it's "gilding the lily" but if you were to do so, what would you add? I'd appreciate any of your creative opinions!
Chris Scheuer says
Lemon curd would be fabulous!
Dorothy Larson says
What a great idea Chris! I knew you would have a creative/delicious option for me. Thank you so much!
Dorothy Larson says
Sorry it has taken so long to report back on the results of my baking and serving of these amazing tarts. If I could give you more than 5 stars, I would! I've been baking and cooking for a long time now and have become rather picky about which recipes to keep and repeat and which to "lose". These Raspberry Jam Tarts were probably the best pastry I've been proud to serve to family and friends. (I did add your suggestion of lemon curd in answer to my question.) I offered the recipe to several who asked, but they asked for your website instead -- so win/win. Right?!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Wonderful! Thank you for your review, Dorothy!
Carol says
Why serve them in cupcakes papers and not unwrapped?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Carol, that's a great question! No profound answer, the papers make the tarts a little easier to remove from the pan and also make for a pretty presentation. You could definitely make and serve them without the papers.
DC says
Hi Chris,
If you make these without the cupcake wrappers, would you spray them with cooking spray? Thank you!
DC says
I meant to say spray the pan, hahaha!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Yes! Enjoy, DC!
Beata B Bak says
Can someone tell me if these cookies freeze well? Thanks
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Beata, The cookies will freeze well. I would freeze them without the jam and then fill them with jam right before serving.
Beata Bak says
Can you freeze them?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Beata, I would freeze them without the jam then add the jam, just before serving.
Liza Bennett says
I would use Smuckers SEEDLESS raspberry jam as the seeds can be hard and a distractor from the light, buttery délice that these tarts are!
5 STARS
PS I made them with Pamela’s GF cup for cup flour which is splendid for tender baking results!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Thanks for letting us know, Liza!
Kayc Carper says
I made these and they were easy and turned out so pretty. They tasted a little salty - I used salted butter so next time will use the unsalted. Thank you for sharing!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Thanks, Kayc!
Gayann says
Before landing on your site, I always prefaced everything I made with the words,” I am NOT a baker!” After making a few of your recipes, a couple of friends told me not to use that “ excuse” as I WAS a baker! I buy the adorable boxes, use your labels, and now have quite the reputation, all thanks to you! These are in the oven as we speak!
Ps. I found the almond flour at Aldi at a great price when I made your cookies, and was glad that was in my pantry! Thanks Chris!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
That's awesome, Gayann! Thank you for letting us know!
Esther Wlliams says
Oooh! These look so delish and lovely! I would love to have the label template for the raspberry jelly as I have some frozen berries I plan to make jam with and use some when I try these tarts. This would be perfect. Thank you.
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Thanks, Esther! We will send the labels.
Colleen says
These tarts look so good Chris! They remind me of a storybook picture in my nursery rhyme book when I was a little girl. (60 years ago!) The Queen of hearts, She made some tarts, All on a summers day….I remember always being very mesmerized by the picture of those tarts..lol..I have saved this and I think they will ,ook pretty on a plate for Easter dinner! Thanks so much for always providing us with such wonderful recipes!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Thank you, Colleen! Enjoy the tarts!
Joan says
These look delicious and MUCH simpler than Scandinavian pastries! Easier than assembled Linzer cookies, as well...
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Enjoy, Joan!
Cassandra says
Wanting to make these for breakfast before church in the morning but not only have no almond flour, have never heard of it. Is it an absolute necessity or can we use the all-purpose we have?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Cassandra, you could definitely make these with 100% all-purpose flour and they will be good... but you will lose some of the wonderful flavor that the almond flour gives.
Leslie says
I love and use so many of your fantastic recipes, so it is no surprise that I can't wait to try these tarts!
I have a few questions.
Have you tried making these as mini tarts? If yes, then how long should they bake for?
I measure by weight. Everything I can find and have used in the past lists 1 cup of almond flour as 96 grams, not 122 grams. Have you made this recipe using weight instead of cups?
Thank you for all your fantastic recipes, Chris.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Leslie, thanks so much for your very kind words.
Regarding your questions,
I haven't tried these in a mini muffin pan but I can't see why it wouldn't work well. I would just check them after 10-12 minutes and then every few minutes after that until they're a nice light golden color.
I use a recipe plugin to convert from cups, tablespoons, etc. to Metric. I double-checked it and it came out to 112g again. I did look online and you're right, the consensus is 96g although some sources go with 104g. I decided to weigh a cup of almond flour with my scale and it came out to 104g. I have changed the grams in the recipe to 100 to be more in line with the consensus!
Karen says
Can't wait to make these with assorted jams I made for Christmas gifts. I know from experience that any baking recipe of yours will work out well. Can these be made GF will all fine almond flour, or is some AP required?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Karen, I haven't tried these with all almond flour. I'm wondering if it might work better to use a cup-for-cup GF flour in place of the AP flour.