Description
These Valentines Love Letter Pastries are a delightful treat featuring flakey pastry filled with sweet strawberry jam. This simple and delicious recipe is great for anyone wanting to impress their loved ones with a homemade dessert that’s both easy to make and absolutely delightful.
Ingredients
Scale
- 240g of plain flour
- 2 tablespoons of caster sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)
- 220g of dairy-free block butter (cold and cut into small cubes)
- ice-water (see method)
- 1 jar of vegan friendly strawberry jam
- dairy-free milk (optional)
- icing sugar (dusting, optional)
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the plain flour and caster sugar. Add the cold, cubed dairy-free butter and mix until the texture resembles sand. This can be done by hand or using a food processor.
- Gradually add ice water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together. Aim for a smooth and slightly sticky consistency. It may require 1-2 tablespoons of ice water.
- Wrap the dough in greaseproof paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm. This step helps to avoid sticking when rolling out the dough.
- Preheat the oven to 170°C fan and line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.
- Dust a work surface with flour and roll out the dough between two sheets of floured greaseproof paper until it forms a large rectangle. Cut the dough into diamond shapes (about 10cm on each side) and place them on the prepared trays. Continue until most of the dough is used, and create mini heart shapes with any remaining dough.
- Spoon one or two teaspoons of strawberry jam into the center of each diamond shape. Fold the three corners inward to resemble an open envelope, pressing the corners to seal in the jam.
- Brush the pastries with dairy-free milk, add heart-shaped cutouts on top, and sprinkle with extra sugar for a crispy, golden finish.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes in the middle of the oven until golden brown.
- Let the pastries cool on a rack. They will be soft at first but will crisp up nicely.
- For serving, sprinkle with icing sugar or add a light glaze if desired.
Notes
Ensure the dairy-free butter is cold to achieve a flaky pastry texture.
You can add other fruit jams if you prefer different flavors.
Let cool completely before storing to maintain texture.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pastry
- Calories: 162
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 45mg
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 16g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 0mg