I can't believe there are just 10 days left until Christmas already! If you fancy baking some mincepies, I can highly recommend this recipe, they're quite boozy but very scrumptious!
I've made mince pies with orange pastry from the Hairy Bikers' Christmas recipe book before and really liked them but this year I wanted to try something slightly different and had a look for inspiration online. I came across this pear & fig mincemeat recipe and adapted it slightly to my taste. It turned out really well and it was delicious so I thought I'd share my version here. I made lemon pastry to go with it (another adapted one from this orange pastry recipe) and kept nibbling the raw mixture as it was so nice! To top them off I used marzipan stars instead of pastry lids. They were yummy!
Make the mincemeat a few days (or weeks) in advance to let it mature. This recipe makes a large tub full which will make plenty of pies. I also thought I might use some to make mince pie ice cream but I haven't tried it yet! It's quite a boozy recipe, I used rum in mine as I'm not a big fan of whisky or brandy. (Ditto for my Christmas cake!)
Ingredients
For the mincemeat:
3 pears, diced
150g glace cherries, chopped
150g mixed peel
250g dried figs, diced
200g sultanas
250g raisins
zest of 2 oranges
juice of 1 orange
zest & juice of 1 lemon
5 tbsp brown sugar
200ml Captain Morgan rum
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg
For the pastry:
500g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
175g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
375g cold butter
zest and juice of 1 large lemon
For the tops:
Marzipan (I used approx 100g for 12 small pies)
Method
Combine all of the ingredients for the mincemeat in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Store in an air-tight container in a cool dark place, stirring every day for 3+ days.
To make the pastry, In a food processor, blitz together the flour, icing sugar and butter until you have fine crumbs. With the processor still running, add in the zest and 3 tbsp of lemon juice. The mixture should form clumps quite quickly. Add a little more juice if required.
Bring the dough together and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. It will keep for 3 days. (It can also be frozen for up to 1 month.)
When ready to bake your pies, preheat the oven to 180oC. Grease a muffin tin
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to approx 3-4mm thick. (I used about half the pastry to make 6 large pies and 18 mini ones.) Use a cutter to cut out circles to fit your tin, I used a small, deep tin so needed medium sized circles. Place the bases into your tin and fill generously with mincemeat. (Not too much though as it will overflow and make the pies difficult to get out as it sticks around the edges!)
Roll out the marzipan to the same thickness, cut out shapes (I used stars) and place on top of the pies.
Bake for around 10-15 minutes (bigger pies will need longer) until golden. Leave to cool for a few minutes in the tin then lever out carefully with a knife to cool on a wire rack and dust with icing sugar to serve (optional).
Or, eat while still warm with a dollop of cream, my favourite way to indulge!
I've made mince pies with orange pastry from the Hairy Bikers' Christmas recipe book before and really liked them but this year I wanted to try something slightly different and had a look for inspiration online. I came across this pear & fig mincemeat recipe and adapted it slightly to my taste. It turned out really well and it was delicious so I thought I'd share my version here. I made lemon pastry to go with it (another adapted one from this orange pastry recipe) and kept nibbling the raw mixture as it was so nice! To top them off I used marzipan stars instead of pastry lids. They were yummy!
Make the mincemeat a few days (or weeks) in advance to let it mature. This recipe makes a large tub full which will make plenty of pies. I also thought I might use some to make mince pie ice cream but I haven't tried it yet! It's quite a boozy recipe, I used rum in mine as I'm not a big fan of whisky or brandy. (Ditto for my Christmas cake!)
Ingredients
For the mincemeat:
3 pears, diced
150g glace cherries, chopped
150g mixed peel
250g dried figs, diced
200g sultanas
250g raisins
zest of 2 oranges
juice of 1 orange
zest & juice of 1 lemon
5 tbsp brown sugar
200ml Captain Morgan rum
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg
For the pastry:
500g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
175g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
375g cold butter
zest and juice of 1 large lemon
For the tops:
Marzipan (I used approx 100g for 12 small pies)
Method
Combine all of the ingredients for the mincemeat in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Store in an air-tight container in a cool dark place, stirring every day for 3+ days.
To make the pastry, In a food processor, blitz together the flour, icing sugar and butter until you have fine crumbs. With the processor still running, add in the zest and 3 tbsp of lemon juice. The mixture should form clumps quite quickly. Add a little more juice if required.
Bring the dough together and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. It will keep for 3 days. (It can also be frozen for up to 1 month.)
When ready to bake your pies, preheat the oven to 180oC. Grease a muffin tin
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to approx 3-4mm thick. (I used about half the pastry to make 6 large pies and 18 mini ones.) Use a cutter to cut out circles to fit your tin, I used a small, deep tin so needed medium sized circles. Place the bases into your tin and fill generously with mincemeat. (Not too much though as it will overflow and make the pies difficult to get out as it sticks around the edges!)
Roll out the marzipan to the same thickness, cut out shapes (I used stars) and place on top of the pies.
Bake for around 10-15 minutes (bigger pies will need longer) until golden. Leave to cool for a few minutes in the tin then lever out carefully with a knife to cool on a wire rack and dust with icing sugar to serve (optional).
Or, eat while still warm with a dollop of cream, my favourite way to indulge!
No comments:
Post a Comment