Well, it had to be done really didn’t it? I mean how long can you have baking blog before you make a batch of mincepies? Well for me nearly three years.

I absolutely love mince pies but it wasn’t until Darcey asked for “those cakes with all the stuff inside”  (and it took quite a while to work out what she was talking about) that I even decided to give it a go. I did the usual, looked through a ton of baking books, blogs and websites and they all had various amounts of fruit/ butter/ sugar / BRANDY!!! Some sounded too sweet and some too boozy – they are for Darcey after all. So, rather than follow one recipe I decided to just go with the flow and grab whatever I had in my store cupboard. I bought a bag of mixed fruit but everything else was from my cupboard.

So whether you are making mince pies or adding some boozy juicy raisins to a cake as I am planning to do, here is a really moist and tasty mince meat recipe.

Mincemeat recipe

• 500g mixed fruit (raisins, sultanas, mixed peel- you can make up any combination as long as it’s the same weight)
• 60g dried apricots
• 50g dried dates
• 125g butter
• 160g dark brown sugar
• 1 apple, peeled, cored and grated
• juice and rind of an orange and lemon
• 1 tbsp brandy

To make the mincemeat…

1. Measure all the ingredients except the brandy into a large saucepan and place over a low heat. Stir continuously until the butter has melted.
2. Keep stirring for a further 5 minutes to slowly cook the fruits.
3. Remove the saucepan from the heat then add the brandy and mix it in well. Leave to cool in the saucepan.
4. Once completely cold store in an air tight container and allow the alcohol to really sink into the fruit for at least 24 hours before using in a pie.

Shortcrust pastry recipe

• 250g plain flour
• 140g cold butter
• 2 egg yolks
• 3 tbsp cold water
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 egg white – for brushing the pies before baking

How to make shortcrust pastry

1. Sieve the flour into a bowl
2. Cut up the butter into small cubes then rub into the flour to form a breadcrumb consistency.
3. Mix the water and egg yolks together then pour into a well in the bowl and mix into the flour/egg mix with a knife.
4. Keep mixing until well blended but don’t over mix or the dough will become tough and you’ll loose that light, light texture.
5. Bring all the crumbs together with your hands then wrap the dough in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.

To make the mince pies

1. Lightly dust the wells in a fairy cake baking tray with flour. Heat your oven to 180ºC (160 fan)
2. Roll out the chilled dough and cut out thin circles that are just a little bit bigger than the fairy cake wells in the tin. Place each disk of dough into a well and press down to make the pie base.
3. Fill the case with mincemeat.
4. Cut out a shape to go on the top of each mince pie. I made snowflakes but anything goes, just remember that if you are completely covering the top of the pie put a few holes in the top for the steam from the fruit to escape from.
5. Brush the top of each mince pie with a little egg white to give it a nice sheen when it’s baked.
6. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
7. Leave the pies to cool for 10 minutes in the tray before removing them and eating while still warm or place on a cooling rack to cool completely. You can dust them with icing sugar too.
8. Either way devour!

So, what are you making for Christmas this year? I’d love to know.

EmmaMT