Guides

Baking with jam: fillings, glazes, biscuits

Jam and preserves are versatile in baking: as a filling for biscuits and yeast pastries, as a fruit layer in cakes and muffins, and as a glaze for cakes. FRUCHTSTOFF can be used for all three purposes; what matters is choosing the right flavour and having a smooth, spreadable consistency.

Jam as a filling

For biscuits like jam sandwich biscuits or Linzer eyes, a thin layer of jam is spread between two pieces of dough. This is ideal for Raspberry or Redcurrant, as its tartness complements the sweet shortcrust pastry. Recipes: Jam Biscuits with Raspberry Jam and Linzer Torte with Redcurrant.

Yeast pastries such as sweet buns, plaited loaves or swirls are filled before baking. These work particularly well: Apricot and Plum. Examples: Yeast Plait with Apricot Filling, Buchteln with Plum Filling and Cinnamon Rolls with Plum Filling.

A handy tip: if you stir the jam briefly until smooth before filling, it spreads more evenly and is less likely to leak out while baking.

Jam as a glaze and cake layer

Apricot is the classic choice for fruit tarts and cakes: warm two to three tablespoons with a tablespoon of water, stir until smooth, and brush over the cake with a pastry brush. This gives a lovely shine and a delicate fruity note. If you'd like a fruit layer in a cake, spread jam between sponge layers or under the cream.

Jam in sponge batter and muffins

A spoonful of jam in the centre of a muffin creates a fruity core as it bakes. To do this, fill the cases halfway with batter, add a teaspoon of jam, then cover with more batter. The recipe Raspberry Quark Muffins with a Jam Centre shows you the technique.

Tips for choosing the right flavour

• Biscuits: Raspberry, redcurrant, apricot.
• Yeast pastries: Apricot, plum, morello cherry.
• Cakes and tarts: Apricot as a glaze, morello cherry or blackberry as a fruit layer.
• Desserts: Strawberry, mango-passion fruit, forest fruit.

Sweetness and tartness in balance

Jams vary in sweetness and acidity. Tangy varieties such as redcurrant, gooseberry or morello cherry balance out very sweet doughs or sugar glazes. Milder varieties such as strawberry or apricot go well with heartier doughs containing nuts, almonds or wholemeal flour. All twelve varieties can be found in the fruit spread category, each with an ingredients list on the product page.

For recipes baked with jam, the rule is: thin rather than thick filling. A thin layer is enough to bring out the fruity flavour, and it keeps the dough holding its shape. With yeasted pastries, it's best to spread the jam on only after rolling out, leaving a narrow border free so the dough can be sealed properly.

Biscuit season: jam for Christmas baking

Biscuit season begins in November. Alongside jam biscuits (Spitzbuben), jam fillings also suit vanilla crescents, Hildabrötchen and 'angel eyes' biscuits. For Linzer eyes, a small hole is cut into the centre of half the biscuits. The bottom biscuits are spread with jam, while the top ones are dusted with icing sugar and placed on top, so the jam remains visible through the hole.

Freshly filled biscuits should be left to settle for a day before being stored in the tin. This allows the jam to meld with the biscuit, making them softer and more flavourful.

Baking with honey jam

As FRUCHTSTOFF contains 10% honey, the jam goes beautifully with honey cake and gingerbread dough. For more ideas on baking with honey, see our guide Honey for baking and sweetening. You'll find the full collection of recipes at Recipes with jam.

Frequently asked questions