TWO TWISTS

MINCE PIES

Try a different spin on the season’s favourite bake with two new ideas from the Good Food team

recipes BARNEY DESMAZERY & LIBERTY MENDEZ photographs TOM REGESTER

liberty

There always comes a time during the festive period when you want to bake your own mince pies. But if you don’t have a muffin or cupcake tin, the good news is, you don’t need one for this recipe. My hand-shaped pies are simple to make, so they’re ideal for a low-key Christmas baking session. I was inspired by the flavours of a florentine, including almonds, glacé cherries and dark chocolate for something a little different. These flavours enveloped in crisp shortcrust and mincemeat are a winning combination. Liberty Mendez, recipe developer

Shop-bought pastry and a free-form shape makes these pies a bit easier. The topping has added interest, too, thanks to the candied fruit and drizzled dark chocolate.

Go all-out by making your own pastry and giving the pies a Christmas-tree-like swirl of meringue. They take a bit of extra work, but look the part for a special dessert.

barney

One year, after underestimating the power of the gas oven at a Christmas holiday cottage, I burned the tops on a batch of mince pies and had to come up with a quick fix. It was a happy accident as I cut the tops off, quickly piped over some meringue and pretended that this new festive-looking ‘frosting’ was completely intentional. They’ve evolved since then to have a more lemony zing – great with a cup of tea, or serve them as a festive dessert. Barney Desmazery, skills & shows editor

Easy florentine mince pies

MAKES 14 PREP 20 mins COOK 20 mins EASY V

115g mincemeat (ensure vegetarian, if needed) 1 orange, zested 1½ tbsp orange juice 30g ground almonds 60g glacé cherries, roughly chopped 375g sheet of ready-rolled shortcrust pastry 1 tbsp milk 1 tbsp demerara sugar 50g dark chocolate 1 Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6 and line a large baking sheet with baking parchment. Mix the mincemeat, orange zest, orange juice, ground almonds and cherries together in a medium bowl. 2 Unravel the pastry on its baking parchment and stamp out as many circles as you can using an 8cm round cutter. Re-roll the offcuts and stamp out more circles until all the pastry has been used (you should get about 14 in total). Spoon 1 tsp of the mincemeat mixture into the middle of each circle, leaving a 2cm border. Gently fold the edges of the exposed pastry inwards to slightly cover the filling. 3 Transfer the pies to the lined baking sheet, spaced slightly apart. Brush the pastry with the milk and sprinkle with the sugar. Bake for 18-20 mins until golden brown, then leave to cool slightly. 4 While the pies cool, put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and melt in 20-second bursts in the microwave, or melt in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, ensuring the bowl isn’t touching the water. Drizzle over the pies before serving. Will keep in an airtight container for three days.

PER SERVING 205 kcals • fat 12g • saturates 4g • carbs 21g • sugars 8g • fibre 2g • protein 3g • salt 0.2g

tip

For a more traditional look, omit the chocolate and dust with icing sugar.

Lemon meringue mince pies

MAKES 12 PREP 30 mins COOK 20 mins MORE EFFORT V ❄ pastry only

400g shop-bought or homemade mincemeat (see tip and ensure vegetarian, if needed) ½ lemon, juiced For the pastry (or use shop-bought, see tip, right) 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting 125g butter, plus extra for the tin 25g golden caster sugar 2 eggs, yolks only (use the whites to make the meringue, below) 1 lemon, zested 4 tbsp milk For the meringue 2 eggs, whites only 1 tsp lemon juice 100g caster sugar 1 If making your own pastry, tip the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, egg yolks, lemon zest and milk, then mix into a dough. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead until the pastry comes together, being careful not to over-mix. Form into a disc, cover and chill for at least 10 mins or up to two days. Will keep frozen for three months. Defrost before using. While the pastry chills, mix together the mincemeat and lemon juice in a medium bowl. 2 Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/ gas 7 and lightly butter the holes of a 12-hole muffin tin. Roll the pastry out to the thickness of a 2.8mm and use a 10cm round cutter to stamp out 12 circles, re-rolling the offcuts if needed. Use these to line the holes of the tin, pressing them into the base using a small ball of excess pastry. Spoon in the mincemeat, leaving a little gap at the top, and bake for 15 mins until the pastry is golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool a little, but keep the oven on. The pies will keep covered at room temperature for up to a day. 3 For the meringue, tip the egg whites into a clean bowl with the lemon juice and a small pinch of salt. Beat with an electric whisk to soft peaks, then sprinkle over half the sugar and continue to whisk until you have soft peaks again. Add the remaining sugar and whisk until the meringue is glossy and stiff. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle, then pipe swirls of meringue on top of each pie. Slide the pies back into the hot oven for 10 mins to brown the meringue. (You could also do this using a kitchen blowtorch, if you have one.) Serve warm. Once completely cool, will keep in an airtight container for up to a day.

PER SERVING 306 kcals • fat 11g • saturates 6g • carbs 47g • sugars 31g • fibre 2g • protein 4g • salt 0.2g

TWIST IT

MINI LEMON MERINGUE PIES For those who don’t like mincemeat, just swap it for the same amount of shop-bought lemon curd and continue as stated.

tips

l If you prefer to make your own mincemeat, find a recipe on bbcgoodfoodme. com

l Short on time? Use a 500g block of ready-made shortcrust pastry instead of making your own