Mince Pies

Tom Aikens

Tom Aikens

1st December 2017
Tom Aikens

Mince Pies

This is my recipe for mince pies which are now available at the delis of Tom’s Kitchen delis in Canary Wharf, St Katharine Docks, HMS Belfast in London, and the recently launched Birmingham site. Makes a minimum of 24

Ingredients

  • Mince Meat Pastry:
  • 325g-cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped
  • 270g all-purpose flour
  • 115g shredded suet
  • 1.5g salt
  • 150g raisins
  • 140g butter
  • 115g sultanas and currants
  • 110g caster or powdered sugar
  • 115g mixed candied peel
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 150g soft dark brown sugar
  • 1 whole egg
  • Zest and juice of 1 lemon and orange
  • Few drops vanilla essence
  • 30g nibbed almonds
  • 2 tsp mixed spice
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • Large pinch fresh grated nutmeg
  • 0.5g ground ginger
  • 0.5g salt
  • 4 tbsp brandy
  • Pastry:
  • 170g all-purpose flour
  • 1.5g salt
  • 140g butter
  • 110g caster or powdered sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 whole egg
  • Few drops vanilla essence

Method

Mincemeat:
Mix all the ingredients together, except the brandy, in a bowl and leave in a cool place for 12 hours to marinade.
Place the mixture in a baking dish, cover with tin foil and bake for 2.5 to 3 hours at 140°c / 225°f.
Leave to cool stirring from time to time and then stir in the brandy.
Spoon the cooled mixture into storage jars and cover with waxed discs and seal. This is then ready to use, however it’s best to leave it to mature for one month.
Pastry:
Sieve the flour and salt, put into a stand mixer and place on a low to medium speed, then add the butter mix till crumb like. Add the sugar then eggs and yolks, it will slowly come together, then refrigerate for 1 hour.
Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment to a 0.5cm thickness, then let it rest for 10 minutes. Cut out 48 pieces with a round cutter, you need the tops to be medium and the bottoms to be large.
Make the mince pies in either small Yorkshire pudding moulds or tartlet cases. Lightly grease the moulds/cases then flour. Line with the pastry then add the mince pie mix. Place on the lid, crimp the edges and bake at 180°c /375°f for about 10-15 minutes, dust with icing sugar.

In these challenging times…

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall and restrict access – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 12 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 500,000 followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.