Valentine's jam tarts

Whether or not you're sharing this Valentine's day with a significant other, there's always time to enjoy a good bake. I like the slightly tragic aspect of the finished product, I think it reflects the pressure and ultimate failure to conform on this commercial 'holiday' (is it even a holiday? I still had to go to work today.)

This is a foolproof family recipe, originally in ounces so have provided rough conversions too!

Ingredients:

8oz (226g) plain flour
4oz fat (113g) (2oz vegetable fat, 2oz margerine)
4 tablespoons water

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170°C.

2. Cut up the fat into small pieces.

3. In a large mixing bowl, add the fat to the flour.

4. Using your fingers, rub together the fat and flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

5. Bring together the mixture into a ball and use a rolling pin to roll it out thinly (no more than 0.5mm) on a well floured rolling board/surface of your choosing.

6. Use a cutter (or your knife skills if you're talented) to cut out circles of pastry to form the tarts and their heart-shaped toppings.

7. Bake for 10-15 mins in the oven until golden and not burnt.

I used a bit of artistic license for the hearts.

It's really simple to do, but I think I over estimated my knife skills because the hearts don't look particularly romantic. However I can confirm they taste nice. 

Also: my mum baked a much more visually appealing cake which you can see below.

Should I just give up now and let my mum do all the baking?

So yeah, hope you all had a fun Valentine's Day etc. Alice