Michelle Darmody: How to bake the perfect mince pies this Christmas

Pic: iStock

A good mince pie is all about the ratio of mince to pastry, of course, the crisp, butteriness of the pastry, and the richness of the mince are important as well, but it is good to get the balance of both right.

This is why I opt for a star on top of the pies rather than a full pastry lid. I feel it allows you to taste the mince and it not be overpowered by the pastry.

There are hints and tips for making a good pastry included here.

While these are relevant for mince pies, they also apply to pastry making in general. 

There are a few rules of thumb that if you follow, you will have a good solid pastry in your baking repertoire, and these tips stand for savoury shortcrust pastry as well as sweet.

This recipe makes about 30 mince pies depending on the size of your tin.

The smell of these baking in your kitchen will definitely signal the arrival of Christmas.

I always really enjoy festive Christmas treats, I love the gathering together of spices, dried fruit and alcohol which carries through from the mince pies to the pudding and cake all to be enjoyed on a dozy, full tummy after dinner.

Christmas Mince Pies

recipe by:Darina Allen

The smell of these baking in your kitchen will definitely signal the arrival of Christmas.

Servings

30

Preparation Time

 3 hours 20 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 3 hours 35 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• 450g flour

• 1 pinch of salt

• 275g cold butter, cut into small cubes

• 110g caster sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 jar of mincemeat

Method

1. To make the pastry sieve the flour and salt. Rub in the cubes of butter, do not over mix. You want it to look like large breadcrumbs.

2. Dissolve the sugar in the eggs, mix it lightly and add this to the flour mixture with a fork until combined, then bring it all together with your hands.

3. Wrap the pastry in baking parchment and rest it for at least three hours or overnight if you wish.

4. To make the mince pies preheat your oven to 180ºC/gas mark 4. Butter and flour three bun tins and set these aside. You can make the pies in batches of 12 if you just have one tin.

5. Roll out your pastry to about 3 mm in thickness and cut out 30 circles with an 8 cm cutter then cut out 30 small stars.

6. Gently place the circles into the prepared tins. Do not wedge them down as they will gently fall into place by themselves.

7. Place a generous teaspoon of mincemeat in the center of each of the circles. Leave a line of pastry free of mince around the edge as the mince will spread when it is baking, if the tarts are over full, they will stick to the tin.

8. Place a star on top of each pie and bake for about 15 minutes. The pastry should be turning golden and the mince bubbling.

9. Once the pies are cool enough to handle pop them out of the tin with the tip of a butter knife and leave them to cool on a wire rack. You can sprinkle them with a little icing sugar if you wish.

Baker's tips

Making pastry can take a little patience but once you have it down there are lots of possibilities. You can make quiches, apple tarts, mini jam tarts.

The main thing with pastry is to keep it cold. If you handle the butter too much it will turn to oil and give you a greasy result. 

You need to simply combine it with the flour until breadcrumbs form, they do not need to be small crumbs. Having the cold butter cut up into small cubes really helps with this as there is less handling involved.

The next step, cooling the pastry, is important. Set aside in the fridge for about three hours before rolling it out. 

Just to be extra safe you can also place the filled mince pies into the fridge before baking, that is if you have room for the bun tins in your fridge. This will help the pastry to firm up again after being rolled out.

To prevent the tarts from sticking to the tin when being removed (which results in them breaking up), both grease and flour the tin before you start. I put a small knob of butter onto a piece of baking parchment, or use the foil paper the butter came in. Rub this thoroughly into each hole in the tin. 

After the tin is greased place half a teaspoon of plain flour into each hole and swirl this around until all of the butter is coated. You can tip any excess flour onto your countertop to use when you are rolling the pastry.

Another reason the tarts can stick to the tin is if there is too much mincemeat added. You want to see a pastry around the edge of each tart before they go into the oven as the mince will spread as it bubbles and bakes.

3 Delicious Variations

Spiced Jam Tarts

In place of the mincemeat, mix together 50g of dried cranberries, 20mls of orange juice, the zest of a lemon and 100mls of good quality jam. I often use raspberry. 

I add a  1/2 teaspoon of cake spice to the mix and let it stand for an hour or so. You can substitute the orange juice for Christmas booze, such as brandy or rum, if you wish. It will evaporate while baking.

Apple & Cinnamon Tarts

Stewed apple tarts with a hint of cinnamon work well. Stir about ¼ tsp of powdered cinnamon and two 2 teaspoons of maple syrup through a cup of strewed apple and use this in place of the mince.

You can use premade puff pastry in place of the shortcrust if you are in a rush and do not have the time to make pastry. 

Prick the pastry discs with a fork before putting the mince on top. You do not have to use a bun tin but can simply bake these on a lined flat baking tray.

Chocolate Tarts 

To make chocolate tarts bake the tart cases blind by placing a circle of baking parchment over each disc of pastry in the bun tin. Top the parchment with some baking beans and bake for the allotted 15 minutes. They should be lightly golden. Take them out of the oven. 

After they have cooled slightly in the tin remove the tart cases onto to a wire rack to cool completely. Make chocolate ganache with half cream and half chocolate melted together and pour this into the tart cases and let to set before serving. 

They can be topped with dried fruit, nuts or some berries.