Christmas Pudding History

The Lord of Misrule's Christmas Guide
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Mince Pies

Mince Pie Recipe

Ingredients
>> 12 oz or 350 g of mincemeat – homemade or from a jar. Quality is the key to a good mince pie
>> 7 oz or 200 g sifted plain flour
>> 1.5 oz or 40 g caster sugar
>> 2.75 oz or 75 g ground almonds
>> 4.5 oz 125 g unsalted butter
>> 1 large egg
>> Some milk to glaze the pastry

Method
(1) Place the sugar, flour, almonds and butter in a food processor and give the mixture a good whiz until it looks like breadcrumbs
(2) Slowly add the egg to the mixture
(3) Wrap this pastry mixture in clingfilm and put it in the fridge for an hour to cool
(4) After an hour take the pastry out of the fridge and roll it out on a floured worktop
(5) Cut out 12 circles with a pastry cutter
(6) Butter a 12 tub pie tin
(7) Put the mincemeat into a bowl and stir (CLOCKWISE for good luck). If you want to add a splash of brandy or something similar, now’s a good time to do it – to your own taste.
(8) You can also add a pinch of mixed spice or just a nice dash of cinnamon or perhaps a couple of cloves.
(9) Put one of the pastry circles in each of the tubs in the pastry tin, gently pressing the pastry to the shape of the tub
(10) Fill each tub with a heaped teaspoon of the prepared mincemeat
(11) Cut out 12 slightly smaller circles and use these to cover the mincemeat – do NOT force these down to squash the mincemeat, but try to get the edges to seal the top of the tub
(12) For a bit of flair, you can cut out pastry star shapes to put on top of the tub lids.
(13) Make a small slit in the top of each pie and then brush the tops with a splash of milk to glaze them
(14) Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6
(15) Bake the pies for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.
(16) Take the pies out of the tubs and put them on a wire rack to cool
(17) For a seasonal flash, you can sprinkle the pies with icing sugar for a beautiful snowy effect
(18) Can be served hot or cold and can usually be reheated once before serving
(19) Taste great with some cream, clotted cream, brandy butter, ice cream, etc

For Delia Smith's Christmas cook book, click here.