Desserts

I’m not a huge dessert person but I love to make desserts for others so here we are!

Mince Pies

Tres Leches Cake – coming soon

Mince Pies

I don’t eat many desserts but these mince pies are the best. I admit it now, I’ve never made my own mince mixture but I always make the pastry. I’ve tried most of the mince mixtures you can buy and I’ve always come back to the Robertsons mix

Prep Time: 30 minutes to 1 hour

Cook Time: 10 – 30 minutes

Serves: 12 – 18 pies

Ingredients:

350g mincemeat

200g plain flour

40g golden caster sugar

75g ground almonds

125g unsalted butter, diced

1 large egg, beaten

milk, to glaze

Method:

  1. Lightly butter a 12 or 18 hole pie or patty tin. That’s what the original recipe calls for but I’ve always used a deep muffin pan
  2. Tip the mincemeat into a bowl and stir so that the liquid is evenly distributed
  3. Place the flour, sugar, almonds and butter in a food processor and process briefly until resembling breadcrumbs, then slowly add the eggs through the feeder tube. I don’t have a food processor so I always rub the ingredients together by hand and I always think this is the best way anyway. At least you can get the texture you are looking for etc
  4. Bring the mixture together with your hands, wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least an hour (again, I always chill for about 4 hours)
  5. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6
  6. Bring the pastry out of the fridge and thinly roll it out on a floured counter top
  7. Cut out 12 – 18 circles with a fluted pastry cutter, large enough to fill the base of the prepared tin. Press gently into each hole, then fill with the mincemeat
  8. Cut out another 12 – 18 smaller discs and use to cover the mincemeat. Press the edges together if you can but don’t worry if you can’t. If you can make the edges meet, make a small slit in the lid, then brush lightly with milk
  9. Bake the pies for 20 minutes until golden brown, remove to a wire rack and serve warm with ice cream/cream/custard or if you’re my husband – all three!