For us Brits, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without mince pies. Perceived as something rather strange and a little perplexing by the French that doesn’t deter me from making plenty in the run up to Christmas and offering them to anyone that happens to pop in.
I’m using a different pastry recipe this year as I have no fancy kitchen equipment in our temporary home. Normally I use a sweet pastry that is butter and egg yolk rich and requires my Kitchenaid to whisk the icing sugar and butter into white fluffiness before adding the flour. Instead, I’m using a more old fashioned recipe, egged on by Angela Hartnell when she was talking on Radio 4 recently. This pastry has no sugar and half/half lard and salted butter.
mini mince pasties ready to go in the oven
To make around 12 to 14 mince pies or around 28 little pasties (as I have made), you’ll need the following:
200g plain flour
60g lard
60g salted butter
The finely grated rind of an orange
A small glass of chilled water
Mincemeat (bought is fine)
Method:
- Weigh out the flour into a good sized mixing bowl. Add the lard and butter cut up into tiny cubes (they should be fridge cold before you do this). Add the grated orange rind and then gently rub the mixture between your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. It doesn’t matter if there are little lumps of fat that keeps it airy and crispy when baked.
- Sprinkle a little water over the top of the mixture and then using a knife, gently blend it in (this avoids hot hands). Continue adding a little more water and using the knife, blend it in until the mixture starts to come together. At this point – stop!
- Get a large piece of clingfilm and put in on the work surface. Gently tip the mixture out onto the cling film and shape into a flat disc.
- Chill in the fridge for a minimum of one hour
- When assembling the mince pies remove the pastry from the fridge quarter of an hour before you are ready to roll. Flour the work surface and gently roll out then cut into circles using a cutter.
- For my mini pasties I placed a small teaspoon of mincemeat in the middle of the circle and then folded over (damping the pastry edge with water so it would stick). I then pressed the edges with a fork and cut a couple of slits on the top of each one which allows air to escape while they are cooking and makes sure they don’t explode.
- If you’re making traditional mince pies then you’ll have a tin (like a muffin tin but not quite as deep). In this case put one circle in the base of each mould, put a teaspoon of mincemeat in the centre, damp the edges and then place another circle on top.
- Pop in a preheated oven at 180°C until golden
- Remove from the oven and dust with icing sugar
Dust with icing sugar while still warm and enjoy!
For those of you who reading this post that have no idea what I’m talking about when I mention mincemeat, let me explain. It’s a lovely mixture of dried fruits such as sultanas, raisins, glacé cherries, nuts, citrus peel and sometimes grated apple. The ‘real’ mincemeat has suet added (shredded lard). All the Christmas spices are added – nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Families have their own secret recipes and all the shops in the UK sell their own brand at Christmas time. I was lucky enough to be given a jar of home made mincemeat from a good friend Sheila who has recently returned from a trip to see friends and stocked up on all the ingredients to make her own.
