Traditional Mince Pies
Perhaps one of my favourite Christmas treats!
MINCEMEAT
Mincemeat is delicious and often, if you’ve never had it you may think you don’t like it. But I encourage you to try it, it’s so delicious and tastes like Christmas. I love a good mince pie, but I also like to use mincemeat in pear and apple crumbles, or the base of a tart/pie.
225g beef suet
350g raisins
225g sultanas
225g currants
225g candied peel, finely chopped
350g dark brown sugar
grated rind and juice of 2 oranges
grated rind and juice of 2 lemons
50g whole almonds, chopped
4 tsp mixed spice
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
6 tbsp brandy
Just mix all the ingredients, except for the brandy, together in a large bowl thoroughly. Cover with cling film and leave for 12 hours. The next day, place the mincemeat, covered with foil, in a cool oven (225F) for 3 hours. This process slowly melts the suet which coats the rest of the ingredients and prevents fermentation from taking place. Allow it to cool and get quite cold, stir in the brandy, spoon into sterilized jars. Cover and seal.
PASRTY
This recipe comes from a good family friend in England. The lard is a key ingredient to ensure flakey pastry.
1 tsp baking powder
25g sugar
100g unsalted butter, cold and cubed
25g lard
1 egg yolk
50g milk
Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar together. Rub in the butter and lard until the mixture looks like rolled oats. Whisk the egg yolk into the milk, add to the dry ingredients. Working quickly and efficiently, bring the pastry together using your hands. Leave to rest in the fridge for 10 minutes before rolling out. Roll the pastry out to ⅛”, cut out using a circle cutter, place into a tart tray, fill with mincemeat top with another round of pastry. Bake in a preheated oven 400F for 12-15 minutes. Dust with icing sugar once cool. Enjoy!