Mincemeat Pie

These spiced-fruit delights are a classic at Christmas. Although called mincemeat, they do not contain a trace of meat in them. These classic Christmas pies’ filling only constitute of chopped dried fruit typically an assortment of currants, raisins, peel and apples buoyed with spices and a good lick of brandy or rum.

The reason that I am posting this recipe in the month of July and not during the festive season is for the remembrance of a great pastry chef and an elderly friend of mine who has passed on to be with the Lord just last week. She is the one who has taught me this recipe and many others that I will be sharing in future with this blog.

Ingredients:

Pastry

• 6 ounce plain flour
• 1 1/2 ounce butter
• 2 1/2 ounce shortening
• pinch of salt
• pinch of sugar
• 1 -2 tsp ice water
  

Filling

• 1 bottle of Mincemeat filling (Robertson's Classic Mincemeat)
• 1 granny smith apple (peeled, cored and diced)

Place the flour, butter, sugar and salt into a large clean bowl. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, working as quickly as possible to prevent the dough becoming warm. Add one teaspoon ice water to the mixture and knead the dough until it bind together. Add more ice water a teaspoon at a time if the mixture is too dry. Do not over knead the dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for a minimum of 15 minutes, up to 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 220 C.

Combine the mincemeat with the diced apple is a bowl.

To assemble the pie, dust a work surface lightly with a little flour and roll out two-thirds of the pastry to 3mm thick. Cut circles 7.5cm of pastry to line the cups of a standard muffin tray. Fill the pastry lined tins 2/3 full with mincemeat. Roll out the remaining pastry to the same thickness and cut smaller circles to fit as lids on the tart. Dampen the edges of the tart bases with a little cold water and press the lids on. Make a small hole in the surface of each pie with a fork to allow the steam to escape. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 mins or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the icing sugar if desire.

Mincemeat pies make delicious "Petit Fours" served after dinner with a cup of coffee.

Bon appétit.