JAM FINGERS

Katja, Paul’s mother-in-law, is one of those food lovers who more than adores some butter with her jam — whether on bread, sablée pastry or puff pastry, you name it! If you are anything like Katja, you will find these simple, delicate jam fingers a lovely addition to any pastry basket, or just perfect on their own.

This is one of those recipes where you can cheat and use any jam that’s in your fridge, if you don’t have the inclination to cook up a quick batch.

Makes 40

1 quantity of Classic see puff pastry or Rough puff pastry (see opposite)

1 quantity of Royal icing

RASPBERRY JAM

400 g (14 oz) frozen raspberries

200 g (7 oz) caster (superfine) sugar

juice of 1 lemon

Roll the puff pastry out to 2 mm (¹/₁₆ inch) thick. Rest in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, to prepare the jam, put all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring, for 20 minutes. Cool slightly, then purée using a hand-held stick blender or food processor. Cover and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Spread the royal icing over the top of the chilled pastry, all the way to the edges. Cut the pastry into 3 x 8 cm (1¼ x 3¼ inch) strips, wiping your knife between each cut. Lay the strips on the lined baking tray.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool, then use a sharp knife to slit each strip of pastry in half lengthways, all the way through. Pipe a line of jam along the bottom piece and replace the tops.

Your filled jam fingers will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for only a day, but you can store the unfilled baked puff pastry strips in an airtight container for a week.