Katie's Mince Pies

Katie's Frangipane Mince Pies

A friend recalled her family Christmas tradition of “almond mince pies”. Like the Christmas pudding the joy of mince pies is in the making, I loathe eating homemade ones normally, the pastry is just too “pastryish” (I know, I know…). Anyway this is like the dalliance of the grown up mince pie with the cheap (and lovely cherry) kipling bakewell. They are so easy to make and are just delicious. Best of all they look nice enough to give away without having to say “ oh, these are homemade don’t you know”.

Frangipane Mince Pies, from How To Be A Domestic Goddess (Nigella Lawson) - the nearest to Katie's

for the pastry:

175g plain flour, preferably Italian 00
30g ground almonds
65g icing sugar
pinch of salt
125g cold unsalted butter, diced
2 large egg yolks, beaten with a tablespoon of iced water

for the topping:

approximately 200g mincemeat
2 large eggs
90g caster sugar
90g unsalted butter, melted
90g ground almonds
4 tablespoons flaked almonds
2 x 12-bun tartlet trays
7cm fluted biscuit cutter

Make the pastry by putting the flour, ground almonds, sugar and salt into the bowl of the food processor and pulse to combine. Add the diced butter and process till you’ve got a flaky, crumbly mix. Now start adding, tablespoon by tablespoon, the egg and water mix down the funnel, pulsing as you do so, until the pastry looks like it’s about to form a ball around the blade. Turn it out onto a surface, press to form a cohesive dough, shape into 2 discs, cover with clingfilm and put into the fridge to rest for 30 minutes. Roll out one of the discs and stamp out 12 circles slightly larger than the tart indentations.

Press these in gently, patting base and sides and put back in the fridge for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/Gas Mark 6.

Put a scant teaspoon of mincemeat into each pastry-lined cavity. In a bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar, then pour in, still beating, the melted butter. Stir in the ground almonds and then dollop a tablespoon of this mixture on top. Sprinkle with flaked almonds and then put in the oven to cook for 15 minutes, or until the pastry is cooked through and the frangipane gold and brown-flecked.

Take out of the oven and leave to cool in the tins for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. When the tin’s cold, repeat with the second disc, remaining mincemeat and frangipane.