‘Galentines’, February 13th, ladies how are you celebrating?

Valentines Day is just around the corner so love and romance will be on people’s minds. Unfortunately, the one thing on my mind for February 14th is the dental appointment I have!! What I am looking forward to is the 13th of February, the day before Valentines now known as ‘Galentine’s’!! Galentine’s is a day for us gals to do something nice for ourselves or with other ‘Galpals’. I’m going to be spending time on Galentine’s Day watching one of my favourite romantic films, Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’, starring Keira Knightly and Matthew MacFadyen. I love the character of Elizabeth (Lizzie) Bennet. I love the way she’s always herself and doesn’t try to fit into the stereotype of the day. Her love interest Mr Darcy is similar, he wants someone real and he unexpectedly finds it in Elizabeth Bennet. Eventually, both of them let their feelings for each other be known. Just to add to that Regency period feeling I’ll be enjoying a cup of tea in some lovely vintage china kindly gifted to me by the lovely Lisa Finn McCarty and some tasty homemade Valentine tartlets. I have included the recipe for the Valentine tartlets, they are quick and easy to make.

Happy Galentine’s/Valentine’s, Edel x

Valentine Tartlets

Ingredients

butter for greasing the muffin tin.
350g/12 oz strawberries
2tsp cornflour
2 tbsp strawberry jam
grated rind of 2 limes
450g/1lb All Butter Pastry chilled

Firstly for the All Butter Pastry

350g/12oz plain flour
85g/3oz icing sugar
175g/6oz unsalted butter at room temperature, diced
4 egg yokes

In an electric mixer put in the sugar and butter and mix, don’t overmix. Add the egg yolks and a little of the flour and beat until smooth, then add the remaining flour and mix to make a smooth dough. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 15 minutes.

For the tartlets

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius/350 degrees fahrenheit/Gas mark 4. Lightly grease the muffin tin.
Chop the strawberries. Put them in a bowl and stir in the cornflour, jam and lime rind.
Use a little flour to dust and roll out half the pastry, cut out circles with a fluted cutter to fit your muffin tin, press gently in and then spoon in the strawberry filling.
Roll out the rest of the pastry and use the cutter to cut circle lids for the tartlets or like me just cut some hearts from the pastry and place on top of the mixture.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden. Leave to cool in the tin and use a round-bladed knife to ease out of the muffin tin.
Serve with whipped cream
Enjoy!!!