Years ago my Mum worked as a tea lady for a
large company (before she was replaced by vending machines), and at Christmas she would make around 200 mince pies to give out to the staff
on her floor with their morning cuppa. A couple of decades on and she still makes
more than enough mince pies, but now we receive the benefit of her mass baking
session, meaning that I very rarely make any of my own. When I do I usually make them one of two ways; either with a custard inside a shortcrust pastry case or in a puff pastry case (my personal preference).
The first batch I made this season were for Great British Chefs, using A2 milk in the custard. Since I first started using A2 milk a few months ago in my baked mini doughnuts with rhubarb & custard sauce and apple and custard tarts it has become Jack's favourite milk to drink, and he loves it when I have some 'special blue milk' in the fridge. You can find the full recipe for these Mincemeat & Custard Pies here.
For my second batch of mince pies I used ready made puff pastry, which is great for having in the fridge over Christmas ready for when guests arrive - they will be very impressed when you nip into the kitchen & return less than 30 minutes later with a plate of warm and crispy mince pies.
Puff pastry mince pies - makes 12
1 pack of ready made puff pastry
milk
demerara sugar
icing sugar
- Roll the puff pastry out to about 3mm thick
- Using pastry cutters, cut 12 discs large enough to line your 12 hole bun tin & 12 smaller discs for the lids
- Place the bases in the tin & top with a spoonful of mincemeat
- Brush with a little milk around the edge of the pastry & place on the lid and seal
- Sprinkle with a little demerara sugar before baking in a preheated 180C oven for 20 minutes, until golden, puffed up & crispy
- Dust with a little icing sugar before serving
Easy peasy, and never be without mince pies again. Oh, and don't go throwing those scrappy bits of puff pastry away - just trim them into bitesized pieces, brush with milk, scatter with sugar and cinnamon and bake in the oven - delicious dipped in chocolate sauce.
recipe for mincemeat & custard pies commissioned by Great British Chefs
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