Mincemeat Ingredients
½ dl apples, peeled and diced
½ dl dark raisins
½ dl light raisins
½ dl dried cranberries
½ dl chopped dried figs
½ dl chopped dates
½ dl chopped almonds
½ dl grated marzipan
100 grams brown sugar
2½ dl cognac
Mix the dried and chopped ingredients together in a large bowl with the sugar. Add enough cognac to cover all the ingredients. Cover the bowl and let it rest for about 48 hours. Then pour the mincemeat into sterilized jam jars so the mixture can be stored until needed. This batch is enough for 2 large jars.
Ingredients for Shortcrust Pastry – 12 pieces
100 grams butter
200 grams flour
100 grams powdered sugar
1 egg
12 Mince Pies
1 batch of shortcrust pastry
1 jar of mincemeat
1 egg yolk for brushing
Powdered sugar for dusting
Tools
Rolling pin
Baking tray for 12 small tarts
9 cm round cutter for bases
6 cm round cutter for lids
Instructions
- Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the diced butter. Rub the butter and flour together with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the powdered sugar and mix well. Add one egg and bring the dough together.
- Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for a couple of hours.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Dust a work surface with flour and roll out the dough to a thickness of about 3 mm.
- Cut out 12 bases and 12 lids from the dough.
- Place the bases in the baking tray.
- Fill each base halfway with mincemeat.
- Cut a small “V” in the center of each lid to allow steam to escape. Press the lid firmly around the edges to prevent the juices from leaking out during baking.
- Brush with egg yolk.
- Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, until they are golden/light brown.
- Finally, dust with powdered sugar and serve warm with clotted cream* or mascarpone.
*Clotted cream is a rich cream (about 48-60% fat) made by heating unpasteurized/unhomogenized cream in a water bath in the oven at 80°C for 8-16 hours. The thick yellow cream that forms on top is scraped off and cooled before serving. The remaining liquid (skim milk) can be used for baking.
Serve with a good cup of dark tea, such as Shu Puerh tea, Rock Oolong – for example, Big Red Robe or Rou Gui, or a black Keemun tea from Simply Tea.
The best results are achieved by using organic ingredients.