Coconut Tart with Raspberry Jam

Close-up of a sliced coconut tart with jam.

5 from 6 votes

Coconut tart with jam is an old-school classic in the world of British puddings. Shortcrust pastry, jam and a scrumptious coconut topping create a noteworthy dessert that is easy to make and sure to please regardless of the season.

Prep Time30

Cook Time50

Total Time1 20

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: British, Worldwide

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 600kcal

Author: Jane Coupland

Equipment

1 8-inch loose bottomed tart tin Preferably dark in colour to absorb the heat better

Ingredients

For the shortcrust pastry

150 g Plain flour
30 g Caster sugar
75 g Butter cold
1 Egg yolk
1 tablespoon Water Ice cold

For the filling

5 tablespoons Raspberry jam
125 g Butter
3 Eggs Large, free-range
225 g Desiccated coconut
180 g Caster sugar

Instructions

Make the shortcrust pastry

Mix the flour, sugar and salt together in a bowl then rub in the butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of ice cold water. Use a knife to mix everything together, adding a little more water as necessary until a dough forms. It should be soft but not sticky, so add extra water sparingly.
Tip onto a lightly floured worktop and knead briefly and gently until smooth (30 seconds).
Shape into a disk, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile pre-heat the oven to 180C/ 350F. GM 6 and put a flat baking sheet in to warm up.
Roll out to 2-3mm thickness then line an 8-inch tart tin. Prick the base all over with a fork.
Line the pastry with parchment, fill to the top with dried pulses (e.g lentils and small beans) and put the tart tin onto the hot baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes at 180C/ 350F/ GM4.
Remove the beans and parchment then return the tart tin to the oven and bake for a further 7 minutes.

Make the fillng and bake

Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan.
Thoroughly mix in the sugar, eggs and coconut.
Spread the jam over the base of the pastry case.
Spoon the coconut mixture over the top, pushing it right up to the pastry case using a fork. The jam should be entirely covered.
Put the tin bake into the oven to bake (on the hot baking sheet). Bake for 15 minutes, then loosely cover the top with foil or parchment and continue to bake for a further 15 minutes.
Let rest for at least 45 minutes before unmolding from the tin and serving.

Notes

Use digital scales and gram measurements for accuracy when baking. I cannot stress enough how inaccurate the cup measuring system is. For that reason, I don’t recommend it.
Not into making your own pastry? That’s fine. Life is short (and not everybody is a certified pastry-making freak like me) so feel free to use readymade shortcrust pastry if you want to. You’ll need around 300g to line an 8-inch tart tin.
Pick the best quality jam that you can afford. The aim is to pack a punch with the flavour. On that note, look at the fruit content of the jam and select the one with the highest amount of fruit per 100g of jam.
Don’t forget to cover the tart halfway through the baking time to avoid the coconut browning a little too much.
When making the pastry always use cold butter. This helps ensure that the pastry does not get too warm. Pastry that is allowed to get too warm is harder to handle and does not bake as well as cold pastry.
Use a dark metal heavy baking tin as these are better at absorbing heat than light coloured tins.
Do chill the dough – it helps achieve crisp pastry and stops it shrinking from the sides of the tin as it cooks.
And do blind bake the pastry case. It’s the best way to avoid a soggy bottomed tart.
When blind baking line the pastry case with parchment or foil then fill it to the top with a mixture of dried pulses such as small beans and lentils. Don’t bother with dedicated baking beans. I often find these leave indentations in the pastry case anyway.
Put a baking sheet into the oven whilst it is heating up then sit the tart tin directly onto it whilst the pudding is baking. This applies direct heat to the base of the tart, really helping to reduce the risk of a soggy bottom.

Nutrition