Filo Pastry Mince Pies

Sixteen year-old Imogen Palmer has putting her seasonal spin on a traditional recipe. For the less adventurous and for those not tempted to make their own mincemeat… grab a 600g jar of ready made instead. Let’s bake!

INGREDIENTS Mincemeat 2 Bramley apples, finely diced 115g (4oz) raisins 85g (3oz) dried cranberries 100ml (3½fl oz) apple juice 2 tsp ground ginger 2 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground nutmeg zest of 1 orange finely grated 1cm fresh ginger finely grated 2 tbsp brandy (optional) Casings 6 sheets of filo pastry 115g (4oz) melted butter icing sugar for dusting METHOD

1Place all mincemeat ingredients into a pan and cook gently on a medium heat for 10 minutes.

2Remove from the heat and allow the mincemeat to infuse and cool.

3Pre-heat the oven to 180C (350F, Gas 4)

4Grease a 12-portion muffin tin generously with melted butter.

5Lay the filo pastry sheets on a flat surface. With a sharp knife or scissors cut each sheet into 6 equally sized squares. Keep the off-cuts for decorating later.

6Pile the squares on top of each other and cover with a damp cloth to stop them from drying out.

7Take three squares from the pile and brush both sides with melted butter, then lay them in the muffin tin, offset from each other at an angle, creating a star effect.

8Repeat this process 12 times to make 12 cases.

9Divide the mincemeat mixture equally and fill the 12 cases. 10Finely shred and randomly sprinkle the off-cuts of pastry over each pie, then brush with a little melted butter. 11Place in the oven and cook for 1214 minutes before removing and allowing the mince pies to cool a little. 12Dust with icing sugar and serve while warm.

Top Tip: Serve with your favourite topping; vanilla ice cream, clotted cream, crème fraîche or custard

MAKES 12