Vegan Pop Tarts
Who else has childhood memories filled with pop tarts before school? These are an absolute throwback to a sugary delicious brekkie or after school treat so I thought I would give them more of a ‘grown up’ feel. Using homemade shortcrust pastry, homemade jam and icing they are a little lower in sugar and filled with real fruit but still delicious.
Step by Step Ingredients
Shortcrust pastry – No where near as time consuming as puff pastry, this is a really easy pastry to make. This pastry is vegan and even be made gluten free by simply swap for 2 types of gluten free flour.
Homemade Jam – Depending on what fresh or frozen fruit you have, this can be changed to fit what you have. Whether you want a blackcurrant, raspberry or mixed berry it’s completely up to you. The measurements will work the same.
Cinnamon Icing – I chose to add a little cinnamon for colour and flavour but this isn’t essential. You can make the icing pink by simply adding 1 tsp of the blackcurrant jam to the mix.
Sprinkles – Now pop tarts are renowned for their sprinkles and toppings so please feel free to add any! I’ve just topped mine with icing and a few berries but if you’re making these with kids feel free to get creative.
Useful Tips
Thin Pastry – Without running the risk of making it too thin, you want a thickness of around 0.8mm so that it’s thick enough to hold the filling but not too thick that it’ll just be a mouthful of pastry.
Seal the edges- By using a fork to prod the edges it really helps seal the pop tarts to stop any spillages.
‘Egg wash’- Instead of a regular egg wash I simply mix date syrup / sugar syrup with a splash of water to brush over the top to help get a beautiful crust.
Jam- No need to use blackberries, it can be whichever jam you would like to make, or even a good quality shop bought.
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Homemade Vegan Pop Tarts with Blackberry Jam
Ingredients
For the Shortcrust Pastry
- 300 g plain flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 120 g plant based butter cubed at room temperature
For the Blackberry Jam
- 200 g blackberries
- 70 g caster sugar
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp water
For the Cinnamon Icing
- 5 tbsp icing sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp plant based milk or water
- 1 1/2 tsp plant based butter
Instructions
For the pastry
- In a large bowl mix the flour, salt and caster sugar together then add the cubed plant based butter then bring together using your hands or a silicone spatula
- Mix and fold together until a smooth ball of pastry has formed then place back in the bowl, cover and leave to rest in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes
For the jam
- Simply pop all of the ingredients into a pot over a medium heat and allow to combine, bubble for around 8-10 minutes and set aside to thicken and set
- Take the pastry out of the fridge and place on a floured work surface, then using a floured rolling pin roll out till around 1cm thick
- Using a cookie cutter or just a knife slice out 12 equal rectangles to form the pop tarts *note, you can use which ever shape you would like*
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC
- Lay 6 of the rectangles onto a lined baking tray then spoon on the blackberry jam, around 2 tbsp per pop tart repeat until all are covered *if you have leftover jam either add more to the pop tart filling or set aside
- Match up the other 6 pastry rectangles over the top then using a fork pinch the very edges of the rectangles to seal them, then give the top of each pop tart a brush with either oat milk or sugar water to help get a golden crust
- Pop in the oven to bake for around 25-30 minutes until the pastry is golden on top
To make the cinnamon icing
- Simply mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl until smooth. You may need to add a little more liquid or a little more icing sugar to get the right texture, but it need to be thick instead or runny to sit on top of the pop tarts
- Cover each pop tart then add a tiny bit of jam to create a pretty pink stain
- Enjoy!
If you like this recipe why not try my cinnamon iced buns recipe here.
