mince pie recipes

Mince pies made with flaky puff pastry are really special, but rather time consuming. For a slightly quicker version, give this rough puff pastry recipe a go before filling with your choice of mincemeat. This recipe is by Anna Higham, head of bread and pastry at Lyle’s and Flor.

Demerara rough puff pastry mince pies

butter, very cold, cubed

plain flour, plus extra to dust

sea salt flakes

milliliters ice-cold water

demerara sugar, plus extra to sprinkle

free-range egg, beaten,

½ batch https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/traditional-mincemeat/traditional mincemeat

You’ll also need…

Put the butter in a mixing bowl, add the flour and the salt, then use your fingertips to rub loosely together. Keep some lumps of butter as these will help the pastry puff.

Add the ice-cold water and mix with a round-bladed table knife until the mixture comes together into a dough, then wrap and chill for an hour.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 15cm x 40cm rectangle. Sprinkle with one third of the sugar, then gently press the sugar into the dough with a rolling pin. Take a short end and fold a third of the dough over the centre, then take the other short end and fold that third over the top, as if folding a letter. Wrap, chill and rest the dough for 30-60 minutes.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to the same size, sprinkle with half the remaining sugar, then repeat the letter fold. Chill the pastry for 30-60 minutes, then repeat using the remaining sugar and the same fold. Chill for 1 hour or overnight (see Make Ahead).

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until 3mm thick and use the large cutter to stamp out circles, re-rolling as needed. Use to line the bases of the muffin/pie tins, then fill with your choice of mincemeat.

Use the smaller cutter to cut lids (re-roll as needed), brush one side with egg wash, then place (egg wash-side down) on top, pressing gently to seal the edges. Brush the pie tops with more egg wash and sprinkle with a little demerara sugar and a tiny pinch of sea salt (the salt balances the flavour). Chill for 20 minutes.

Heat the oven to 200°C/ 180°C fan/gas 6. Cut a small slit or hole in the tops of the pies and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden and crisp. The pies are delicate when they’re warm, so cool in the tins for 5 minutes before gently removing and cooling. Warm through briefly to serve – they’ve wonderful with a scoop of clotted cream.

Try making your mincemeat well in advance of Christmas to give the flavours maximum time to mature

Traditional mincemeat

raisins

currants

brandy

lemon, juice of ½

shredded suet

dark brown sugar

chopped mixed peel

nutmeg,

Bramley apple, peeled and grated

Soak the raisins and currants in the brandy and lemon juice for 1 hr until plumped up, then drain and set the brandy aside. Mix all the ingredients together in the order given, then pour in the brandy when everything else is well mixed. Spoon and press into sterilised jars, to exclude any air (the easiest way to sterilise jars is to run them through a dishwasher on its hottest setting). Cover and leave for at least a fortnight. Will keep in the fridge for up to 6 months.

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