Christmas really isn’t Christmas without a mince pie. I’ve already given you a mincemeat recipe (see here for my Christmas Mincemeat with an African Twist recipe). These are extra-special large rustic mince pies for those who really love this special Christmas treat. You need 500g mincemeat and I provide a recipe for a rich and crumbly pastry. Admittedly, you only get 9 pies, but they are extra big and deep filled. I find it’s best to make these in silicone muffin wells as it’s far easier to extract the pies once baked. That said, you can make them in ordinary muffin tins too… it just takes an extra bit of effort. These pies are made extra special with the addition of a little sherry to the mincemeat (but you can omit this if desired).
I’m using golden caster sugar for the sweet shortcrust pastry as it enhances the flavour.
Prep 60 mins / Cook 40 mins / Makes 9 + 240 mins chill time
Ingredients:
For the pastry
110g (1/2 cup + 1 tbsp) golden caster (superfine) sugar
260g (2 cups + 1 tbsp) plain (all-purpose) flour
A pinch of fine salt
125g (5/8 cup) cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg
Pinch of sea salt
For the filling:
500g (2 cups) mincemeat (store bought or use my recipe for Christmas Mincemeat with an African Twist)
20ml sweet sherry
1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
Softened butter, for greasing
Demerara sugar, for sprinkling
Method:
For the pastry, put all the dry ingredients in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer/food processor and mix well. Add the butter, mix until breadcrumbs form, then add the egg and a splash of water, and mix again until a dough forms. If the mixture remains a little dry add another splash of water, as needed. Knead gently until smooth, then shape into a disc, wrap tightly in clingfilm (plastic wrap) and refrigerate for four hours.
For the filling, turn the mincemeat into a bowl then scatter over the sweet sherry, followed by the cornflour and mix well to combine.
To assemble the pies, generously grease nine muffin holes in a deep muffin tray, and chill for 15 minutes.
Remove the pastry from the refrigerator, knead gently then turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently roll it to about 4-5mm (1/4 in) thick. Cut out nine 10cm (4 in) discs for the bases and nine 6cm (2 ½ in) discs for the lids, re-rolling the scraps as needed.
Press the larger pastry circles into the base of the muffin wells, making sure there are no holes. Spoon in the mincemeat mixture, filling the cases up to ½cm (1/5 in) from the top. Pop on the lids and fold over the edges to seal the pies. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan/375°F/gas mark 5). Pierce the top of each pie with a sharp knife, sprinkle with the demerara sugar then transfer to the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the tops are golden.
Remove from the oven, set aside to cool for 15 minutes, then carefully unmould and eat warm or at room temperature.
