Strawberries and cream hand pies

Method

• step 1

  To make the pastry, put the flour and ½ tsp of fine sea salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the butter and toss to coat in the flour. Press the butter into big, flat flakes using your fingertips. Drizzle in 100-125ml of ice-cold water, a little at a time, and stir using a cutlery knife. Add just enough water to bring the dough together (it will look crumbly, but there shouldn’t be any loose flour – if you squeeze it together, it should hold as a single piece). Press the dough into a rectangle, wrap well and chill for 1 hr.

• step 2

  Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured worksurface into a roughly 15cm x 45cm rectangle, rolling it away from yourself. Fold the two short ends into the middle of the rectangle so they meet in the middle. Fold the dough in half, closing it like a book. Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat the rolling and folding process. Wrap well and chill for 30 mins, then repeat the rolling and folding process once more. Wrap the dough again and chill for at least 1 hr or ideally overnight.

• step 3

  To make the strawberry filling, put all the ingredients except the cornflour in a medium pan and cook over a medium heat until all the juices have been released from the berries and have just come to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 2 mins. Meanwhile, combine a little of the juice with the cornflour and stir to make a slurry. Stir the slurry into the pan and cook for 1 min. Scrape the filling into a bowl, then cover and chill until needed.

• step 4

  For the custard filling, put the milk, vanilla and half the sugar in a pan set over a medium heat and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, put the egg yolks, cornflour, a pinch of fine sea salt and the remaining sugar in a bowl, and whisk until smooth and pale. Slowly pour the hot milk mixture into the yolk mixture, whisking continuously to prevent the yolks from scrambling. Pour the custard back into the pan and cook, whisking continuously, until the custard is thick and bubbling. Cook for a further minute before scraping into a bowl and whisking in the butter. Cover the surface with a piece of clingfilm (this prevents a skin from forming) and chill until needed.

• step 5

  To assemble, remove the pastry from the fridge and cut in half. Roll each piece into a rectangle slightly bigger than 15cm x 40cm, then trim to size. Cut each piece into six equal rectangles. Spoon a little of the strawberry filling onto half of the rectangles. Brush the edges of the rectangles with a little beaten egg, then top with the plain pastry rectangles, pressing the edges together to seal. Arrange the pies over two baking trays lined with baking paper and chill for at least 30 mins. Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5.

• step 6

  Crimp the edge of each pie using a fork, then use a sharp knife to cut three small crosses into the top layer of the pastry – this will act as both a steam hole and a way to add the custard filling once the pies are baked and cooled. Bake for 25-30 mins or until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Leave to cool completely.

• step 7

  Remove the custard filling from the fridge and beat until smooth, then spoon into a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle. Pipe a little custard into each cooled pie through the three steam holes. They are best eaten the same day they’re made but will keep without the custard filling for two days.