Mince Pies

With a twist…

I do love a good mince pie, and since Christmas is on its way, I decided to start eating them this month, and today I made my own version.

Now, I know that my American readers, and, thinking on, most readers that are not it the UK may not know what the hell a mince pie is. They go by other names of Christmas Pie, Shrid Pie and Mutton Pie, and date back to Tudor times. Although we now use sweet mince and not savory fillings. Sweet mince was also a favourite of the Tudors.

Mincemeat is a sweet filling made from fruit, spices and sugars and has many veriations, but all have the same base with currents and sultanas. My version has a lemon & rose twist to it.

Ingredients

• 150g Currants
• 100g Sultanas
• 100g Chopped nuts (I used salted caramalised pican, almonds, cashew, hazelnuts, macadamia)
• 150g Golden Caster Sugar
• 100g Unsalted butter
• ½ tsp Ground clove
• 1 tsp Ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp Ground cinnamon
• Zest of 1 Lemon
• Zest of 1 Orange
• 60ml Lemon Juice
• ½ tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Rosewater
• 500g Short Crust Pastry
• Lemon Curd
• 1 egg, beaten

Method

1. Combine the currants, sultanas, chopped nuts, citrus zests, lemon juice, spices and salt.
2. Heat butter butter together with sugar in a large saucepan. When butter starts to bubble stir in fruit mixture.
3. Remove pan from heat. When cool add rosewater.
4. Roll pastry out to about 2mm thick, cut discs and fit into muffin or small tart tins. Cut discs for the tops too, or have fun and cut stars for the tops.
5. Place a few spoons of the filling into the pie cases and add a blob of lemon curd on top of the mixture, then add the pastry lid/star. You can use the whisked egg to bond the lid if you are not crimping the edges.
6. Brush with a bit of egg/eggwash.
7. I sprinkled the tops with some lavendar sugar that I had mad with culinary lavendar that I keep in a sealed jar.
8. If using disc lids cut a few little holes to allow the steam to escape.
9. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes at 200°C / fan 190°C / Gas mark 5 (adjust times for your oven) or until the pastry has turned golden brown.
10. Allow to cool slightly and dust with icing sugar before serving.
11. I like to serve with a dollop of extra thick double cream.

The three on the left of the photo with the slashes in are puff pastry ones I made at the same time. For this I cut out a disc of puff pastry, added the filling to the centre, brushed the edges with egg and added a puff pastry top and pressed it down, washed with egg, slashed the top and baked at the same time, but I did not add the lemon curd to these.

I hope you enjoy this recipe if you make it. But be warned, you may put on weight if consuming too many of these delicious mince pies.