Less than 10 weeks until Christmas...
It is less than 10 weeks until Christmas is upon us, meaning now is the perfect time to make your mince pie mincemeat!
Smells of warm spices, squidgy boozy drenched fruits, wrapped in the nostalgia and comfort and deliciousness of all things sweet – I love the cake, the brandy flamed pudding but more importantly, the MINCE PIES!
Served warm, these mince pies are perfect with a tea/ coffee/ Baileys coffee, a blob of whipped brandy butter, custard or whipped cream- at any time of day. At Christmas all rules are out the window, it’s holiday season, you can do what you like!
Here’s my favourite recipe- I prefer almond frangipane on top of the mincemeat so there’s a mix of textures- it gives a cake-y, almond, crunchy topping but if you’d rather be traditional, go for pastry top and bottom.
Sweetpaste Ingredients:
-
- 300g plain flour
-
- 90g icing sugar
-
- 212g butter, cold, cut into cubes
-
- 50g egg yolks
-
- 30ml cold water
Method:
-
- Sieve the flour and icing sugar, add the cold butter. Crumb carefully together to make sure there’s no lumps
- Mix the egg yolks and water. Add to the flour/ butter mixture and bring to a paste gently.
- Roll flat into a block and wrap in cling film then chill for at least an hour before using
- Roll into a 2.5mm thickness sheet and cut them into discs. Press into the tins and leave to rest
Tip: Don’t overwork the paste at any time, it’ll make it tough and the light crumbly texture that you want. It can be re-rolled twice, so if you don’t use it all the first time, shape it back together and roll again, resting in between rolling.
Frangipane Ingredients:
-
- 125g unsalted butter, softened
-
- 125g caster sugar
-
- 90g egg
-
- 125g ground almonds
-
- 31g plain flour
-
- ½ lemon zest
-
- Flaked almonds to decorate
Method:
-
- Beat the butter and caster sugar together. Add the egg gradually with the almonds, plain flour and lemon zest
- Tip: Don’t overbeat/ add excess air otherwise will rise a lot and then collapse after cooking
To assemble the mince pies before baking:
Method:
-
- Line the sweetpaste discs into individual moulds, push them into the corners so there’s no air pockets
- Fill the mincemeat in generously, leaving space for the frangipane on top
- Cover the top with a layer of frangipane- this is easier if it’s piped in
- Sprinkle with flaked almonds
- Bake at a moderate temperature 155°c for approx. 20 minute (depending on your oven) until the frangipane is golden brown and when checked the sweetpaste paste is nicely cooked on the bottom
- Leave to cool, if you have the patience to wait (for 10 mins or so) to let the filling cool and settle
Tip: Best to cook from almost room temperature- if it’s baked from the fridge, the paste won’t always cook at the same rate as the filling and frangipane so it can be undercooked
Store in a dry container, these can be frozen raw or cooked, so easy to make ahead of time. Enjoy!
