You can size the pies down and make more smaller hand pies, or make
fewer that are larger. You can also choose a different shape.

Chilling the dough before filling gives you a little extra time for shaping
without the dough getting warm and smeary. This is good when you are
building confidence. For extra assembly control, form the pies on a
chopping board that you can move in and out of the fridge if the dough is
getting warm.

Start the filling by trimming rhubarb stalks, then rinse and dry. Cut into
5 mm (¼ in) thin slices and place into a medium bowl to weigh to 220 g
(8 oz). Hull and chop the strawberries and cut into similar-sized pieces.

Make a total of 320–350 g (11½–12½ oz) prepared fruit. If your strawberries
fall short, bump up the total with extra rhubarb.

Soften the butter to almost melty and add to the fruit with all the
remaining ingredients. Give the ingredients a good massagey mix –
the butter/cornflour will make the fruit pieces stick together.

Make the egg wash by stirring the ingredients together, then grab a
pastry brush. Set up a little bowl of flour and grab a fork for sealing
too, and spray a baking tray with cooking oil and line with baking paper.

Working one at a time, lay a dough square on a lightly flour-dusted
work surface and brush VERY lightly with egg wash to make a sticky
base. Punch out three 5 mm (¼ in) holes in the upper half of each
dough square; they can be in a neat row or offset. I use a wide piping
nozzle tip approximately 5 mm (¼ in) diameter.

Steam vents control how the majority of steam exits the pie. No vents and
the sides can bust open. I like holes over slashes – it’s tidier to pipe in the
custard later. Do slashes if you’re not custard-ing.

Cutting the vents before assembly is easier on a flat surface than on a
bumpy soft pie filling.

Pick up a handful (around 70 g/2½ oz per pie) of the fruit mix, squishing
it into a rough rectangle in your hand. Place it on the dough side closest
to you and then shuffle the fruit bits so they lay as evenly as possible.

Keep a small 1 cm (½ in) clear border at each side to seal the pies.

Don’t worry about there being room for the custard later – a pie gap will
ALWAYS form while baking.
continued …