SWEETHEART STRAWBERRY HAND PIES

To make the pastry, place the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor and pulse several times to combine. Add butter and pulse again until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. With the blade running, add ice water. It should be crumbly but hold together when you press it into a ball. If not, add more ice water one spoonful at a time. Alternatively, you could use store-bought pastry.

Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured work surface. Press into a 2cm thick circle, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

To make the filling, preheat your oven to 200°C. Mix the strawberries and sugar, crushing some of the strawberries as you mix.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of about 2mm. Cut out heart shapes with a cookie cutter or cut the pastry into rectangles, using a small heart shaped cookie cutter to make a window along one short side (so that it forms a heart shaped window when you fold it over the filling). Place about 1 tablespoon of the filling on half the heart shapes, cover with another heart shape and crimp the sides together using a fork (or place filling on one side of each of rectangle, fold the side with the cutout over and crimp all around using a fork).

Break the egg into a cup, add milk and whisk with a form to combine. Use a pastry brush to paint a little egg wash over each pie.

Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool and serve.