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 A festive flourish with a pastry snowflake |
 Mince Pies |
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Ингредиенты
- For the Mincemeat
- 200gr / 7 oz. light muscavado sugar
- 200gr / 7 oz. cranberry compote
- 2 x tsp cinnamon
- 2 x tsp ground ginger
- 1 x tsp nutmeg
- 100gr / 3.5 oz. raisins
- 100gr / 3.5 oz. sultanas
- 200gr / 7 oz. dried cranberries
- 1 x orange, zest and juice
- 1 x lemon, zest and juice
- 50ml / 1.7 fl. oz. congnac
- 1 x apple, peeled, cored and grated
- 125gr / 4.5 oz. butter, frozen and then grated. Do the grating last, just before you mix everything together.
- For the Pastry
- 550gr / 1.2 lb. plain flour
- 200gr / 7 oz. butter, softened and cubed
- 200gr / 7 oz. icing sugar
- 4 x eggs
- A pinch (about a quarter of a teaspoon) of salt
- Egg Wash for the Pastry
- 1 x tbsp of milk
- 1 x egg yolk
- To finish, some icing sugar to sprinkle over the cooked mince pies
Инструкции
- Method
- For the Mincemeat
- 1. Chop the sultanas, raisins and cranberries until they are about half or a third of their original size. You don’t have to do this, but I feel that you get a better mouthful of all the flavours if you do.
- 2. Place all the ingredients, except for the butter in your mixing bowl and stir through until everything is even. Then grate your butter straight from the freezer and mix this through. You may find that the butter clumps a little, if it does, I think that the best way to get it mixed through evenly, is with your hands. It’s a bit squidgy and squelchy, but good fun too.
- 3. Cover your bowl with some cling film and put it in the fridge for 24 hours to macerate.
- 4. After this time, remove and use straight away, or put into jars until you are ready to use it.
- 5. The mincemeat will keep for as long as your butter is good, so check the expiry date on the packet.
- For the Pastry
- 1. Place the flour, butter, salt and icing sugar in a large bowl and rub together through your fingers until the mix becomes like breadcrumbs.
- 2. Add the eggs and bring together. I do this at first with a wooden spoon and then move on to using my hands. Work it until it becomes a ball, then remove from your bowl and knead it, just two or three times on a cool surface. By this I mean just 2 or 3 kneading movements, that’s all. This dough is quite sticky and can be a little difficult. If it is just too sticky to get into a ball, add a small amount of flour, but only a table spoon or maximum two, you don’t want to dilute the sweetness too much.
- 3. Wrap your ball of sweet dough in cling film and chill in the fridge for one to two hours.
- To Bake The Mince Pies
- You will need
- 2 x muffin style baking trays, each containing space for 12 cakes. These depressions should measure 8cm 3 in. in diameter and be 3.5cm / 1.5 in. deep.
- A cutter with a diameter of 11.5cm / 4.5 in.
- A cutter with a star or snowflake or other festive design which covers most, not all of the top of your mince pie.
- These pieces of equipment are measured up to work with quantities in this recipe, if you have other types of materials, these will work just as well, but you may find that you have some mincemeat or pastry left over or that you don’t quite manage the exact quantity as shown above.
- 1. Pre-heat your oven to 180°C / 350°F.
- 2. Grease your tray, only in the depressions of course. The easiest way to do this is to take a piece of greaseproof paper and rub it on your stick or pat of butter, then rub it in each cake space in your baking tray, being careful to cover all the surface area with which the pastry will come into contact. Alternatively, if you have the paper in which your butter was packaged, use this to rub around the baking area.
- 3. On a floured surface, roll out your pastry until it is about 2mm / 0.08in to 3mm / 0.10 in. thick. Using your round cookie cutter, cut out the shapes and the decorative shapes you need. You can bring the pastry scraps together in a ball and keep rolling and cutting as much as you need.
- 4. Press the pastry discs into their baking areas, carefully, but with enough firmness that they sit evenly. Try not to press too much as this will make the pastry too thin. Place about a tablespoon of your mincemeat into each pastry lined base, pat is with the back of your spoon, gently, so that it is even. Leave about 3mm / 0.10 in. of a rim so that the mix doesn’t bubble over whilst cooking and so that you get a nice ratio of pastry to mincemeat.
- 5. Place your decorative lids on top of each pie, in the centre, then brush the pastry of each pie, not forgetting the exposed sides, with your egg wash.
- 6. Place in the oven for up to 25 minutes, but check them after 15. They are ready when you can see your mincemeat bubbling and the pastry has turned golden brown and crispy.
- 7. Once cooled, remove from the baking tray and give your mince pies a light dusting of icing sugar.
- Tips and Variations
- • For a longer lasting mincemeat, use suet instead of butter, remember though that this version will no longer be suitable for vegetarians.
- • For the quickest version of mince pies, you can use ready made puff pastry and shop bought mincemeat. To liven up shop bought mincemeat add some lemon or orange zest.
- • Add some peeled, chopped almonds to your mincemeat mix.
- • The mince pies can be eaten warm or cold. Serve them as they are, or with cream, double or pouring, some crème fraîche, or even custard.
- • Mince pies are just as nice enjoyed with a cup of tea or coffee as they are with a glass of whisky or brandy.
- • The mince pies will keep for 3 or 4 days before the pastry starts to go a little soft.
- • The pastry dough can be frozen and used at a later date or you can keep it in the fridge for 3 or 4 days before using.
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Nutrition Facts
| Amount Per Serving | %DV |
|---|---|
| Serving Size 14g | |
| Recipe makes 24 servings | |
| Calories 16 | |
| Calories from Fat 9 | 56% |
| Total Fat 0.96g | 1% |
| Saturated Fat 0.41g | 2% |
| Trans Fat 0.0g | |
| Cholesterol 31mg | 10% |
| Sodium 11mg | 0% |
| Potassium 20mg | 1% |
| Total Carbs 1.14g | 0% |
| Dietary Fiber 0.2g | 1% |
| Sugars 0.65g | 0% |
| Protein 0.99g | 2% |
