Michelle Darmody: Alternative treats to make if you hate mince pies
Christmas spiced jam tart
I adore mince pies, every year I await my first one with anticipation. I also love the seasonality of baking, the way it welcomes in a new part of the year, from hot cross buns at Easter, to brack at Halloween, to the many delights of Christmas. The mince pie, when made right, is one of my favourites. I feel, similar to a good sausage roll, that it is all about the ratio of pastry to filling. I use the same fail-safe pastry recipe each year, which gives a crisp, sweet result and I often make a large batch. If you do the same you can roll out the pastry and cut the circular discs and little stars and pop these into the freezer. A few days before Christmas you can thaw them out and then it does not take as long to get the pies into the oven. Pie making is a fiddly process so this time-saving division of labour makes it more manageable.
I am aware however that not everyone loves mince pies. There are a few recipes included here for alternatives: two using the same sweet shortcrust that I use as a base for many things and one with layers of filo pastry, which can be bought in the freezer section of many shops.
When using a bun tin, grease it well with a thin layer of butter. I usually use the paper foil that the butter comes wrapped in to do this. After the tin is buttered, place about a quarter of a teaspoon of plain flour into each hole. Move your tin in different directions, tapping its base so that the flour evenly coats all of the butter. You should have a thin layer that covers the holes in the tin completely. When placing the pastry discs into the tin you do not have to push them down too much. If you do it will make them difficult to remove afterwards. The pastry will naturally sink as it heats up and will take the shape of the tin as it bakes.
- 50g dried cranberries
- 20mls orange juice
- 100mls good quality jam, I often use raspberry
- 1/2 tsp cake spice
- 225g flour
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 140g cold butter, cut into cubes
- 55g golden caster sugar
- 1 egg
Soak the cranberries in the orange juice for at least an hour.
Mix the flour and the cinnamon and rub in the butter, until it looks like rough breadcrumbs, do not over mix.
Stir the sugar into the egg, mix it lightly and add to the flour with a fork. Bring the pastry together with your hands then rest it for an hour in the fridge or overnight if you wish.
Mix the cranberries with the jam and spices and set aside.
Roll the pastry to about 3mm in thickness and cut out 12 circles to a size that neatly fits into your bun tin. Cut 12 stars, or any other shape you wish, to top the tarts. Place these into the fridge for about 20 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 180°C and grease and flour a 12-hole bun tin.
Gently lay the discs into the prepared tin. Spoon the jam into each disc leaving some room around the edges for the jam to spread as it melts.
Pop a star on the top of each one and place into your oven. Bake for about 15 minutes until golden on top.
Allow to cool in the tin until you can handle the pastry then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- 400g cooking apples, peeled, cored and diced
- 80g dried cranberries
- 50g golden sultanas
- 1/2 tsp cake spice
- the zest of a lemon
- 4 tsp muscovado sugar
- 50g mixed chopped nuts
- 6 large sheets of filo pastry, each cut into 8 even squares
Stir the apples, cranberries, sultanas, spice, zest and sugar together in a heavy-based saucepan and simmer over a low heat for five minutes. Stir in the chopped nuts and set aside to cool and to allow the flavours to blend.
Preheat your oven to 200°C and grease and flour a 12-hole bun tin.
You should have 48 squares of filo once you have cut up the sheets. Place one of these squares into each hole of the bun tin. Place another at right angles to the first, repeat this twice more so that each tart has four layers of pastry. Spoon the cooled mixture into each one and scrunch up the edges of the pastry.
Bake for about 15 minutes until the pastry is golden and crisp. Allow to cool in the tin until you can handle the pastry then gently remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- 140g cold butter, cut into cubes
- 225g flour
- 55g golden caster sugar
- 1 egg
- 50g soft butter
- 50g golden caster sugar
- 115g maple syrup
- 70g golden syrup
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tbs ground almonds
- 50g almonds, chopped
- 50g hazel nuts, chopped
- 50g pecan nuts
Rub the butter into the flour until it looks like rough breadcrumbs, do not over mix as you do not want the butter to soften.
Stir the sugar into the egg, mix it lightly and add to the flour with a fork. Bring together with your hands then rest the pastry for an hour in the fridge or overnight if you wish.
Beat the butter and sugar for filling until light and fluffy. Slowly add in the syrups and then the eggs. Stir in the nutmeg, ground almonds and the chopped nuts. Set aside.
Roll the pastry to about 3 mm in thickness and cut out 12 circles to the size that neatly fits into your bun tin. Place these into the fridge for about 20 minutes. You will probably have some extra pastry you can make a few extra tarts or put it in the freezer for another day.
Preheat your oven to 180°C and grease and flour a 12-hole bun tin. For a larger tart, I would generally bake the pastry 'blind' [without the filling initially] but as it is a small amount it should crisp up in the one bake.
Gently lay the pastry discs into the prepared tin. Spoon the nut mixture into each disc and place some of the pecans on top. When they are all done. Bake for about 15 minutes until the pastry is golden. Allow to cool in the tin until cool enough to very gently remove onto a wire rack. The filling may be wobbly until it is cold so this will need to be done gently.
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