Food24
  • Recipes
    • New recipes
    • Recipe round-ups
    • Air fryer recipes
    • Easy weekday meals
    • Cooking with lamb
    • Delicious pork recipes
    • Fish and Tips
    • Braai recipes
    • Chicken recipes
    • Vegetarian recipes
    • Baking
    • Low carb recipes
    • Gluten-free recipes
    • Dairy-free recipes
    • Pasta recipes
    • South African recipes
  • News
    • Food news
  • Videos
  • Cooking guides and tips
    • Baking tips and tricks
    • Load shedding lifesavers
  • Newsletters
  • More
    • Food24 taste tests
    • Eat for good
    • Drinks
      • Non-alcoholic drinks
      • Wine
      • Beer
      • Cocktails
      • Coffee
    • Win
No Result
View All Result
Food24
  • Recipes
    • New recipes
    • Recipe round-ups
    • Air fryer recipes
    • Easy weekday meals
    • Cooking with lamb
    • Delicious pork recipes
    • Fish and Tips
    • Braai recipes
    • Chicken recipes
    • Vegetarian recipes
    • Baking
    • Low carb recipes
    • Gluten-free recipes
    • Dairy-free recipes
    • Pasta recipes
    • South African recipes
  • News
    • Food news
  • Videos
  • Cooking guides and tips
    • Baking tips and tricks
    • Load shedding lifesavers
  • Newsletters
  • More
    • Food24 taste tests
    • Eat for good
    • Drinks
      • Non-alcoholic drinks
      • Wine
      • Beer
      • Cocktails
      • Coffee
    • Win
No Result
View All Result
Food24
No Result
View All Result

How to make the perfect Christmas mince pie

Food24
Julie Donald by Julie Donald
December 1, 2022
in Baking tips and tricks, Cooking Guides and Tips
0
christmas mince pies
11
SHARES
27.7k
VIEWS
FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsapp

My father was a true connoisseur of fruit mince pies, as a man of an older generation, he took a dim view of “store-bought” pastry. My mother, sister and I, indulged his mince pie mania. I recall one year actually counting 500 mince pies made!

Pastry-to-filling ratio

The first thing before making any decisions is to determine YOUR preferred pastry-to-filling ratio. This is the key to making your perfect mince pie. The type of pastry you select to use will be important here. Rough puff pastry gives a thicker flakier pastry than shortcrust (more traditional probably) which gives a more filling-rich result. I am more of a filling girl, so I would recommend a shortcrust such as the one in the recipe below.  Also making shortcrust is a heck of a lot easier than rolling out a million layers of puff pastry. Having said that, if you want to go ahead and purchase your pastry ready-made look out for an all-butter version which will be infinitely more “melt in the mouth”.

The filling 

For the filling, you can prepare your own Christmas mince (best done well ahead of time…like 2017!) as it tastes best when it has been matured. My mother (bless her) would make it in the old school method using grated suet. Yes, that is, in fact, the fat from around a pig’s organs. But if grating pig fat is a step too far for you, and let’s face it, it is for most people. I recommend purchasing a pre-made Christmas mince and doctoring it slightly. I add a peeled, grated apple and a large slug of brandy or sherry.

The shape of the pie

Once you have your pastry chilling in the fridge ready to roll, and your filling doctored, your next choice is what to make the pies in. A muffin tin would probably to do the job but a slightly shallower tin would be better. In fact, my mother had a special tin just for this purpose – the individual holes were rounded (not as square as the bottom of a muffin pan) allowing for easy removal of the pies. The bottoms were even embossed with a shell (extra festive!) Don’t forget to grease these tins well with cooking spray.

rolling our pastry


Constructions and décor

Once you start rolling our “tops and bottoms”, it is best to test the sizes in your selected pan. You might have to try out your drinking glasses to find the perfect fit. Your “bottoms” should be larger than your tops. Place your bottom snuggly in the tin, add a teaspoon of filling and top with a smaller “top”.  Stick your top on with a touch of water and poke or cut a hole to allow the steam to escape.  If you want something a little more exciting, cut your tops into stars.  Overfilling your mince pies will result in them exploding sticky mince all over your tins and a fight to get them out of the pan, so start with a modest amount of filling. Don’t forget to egg-wash the tops to make them a lustrous golden colour.

Mince pie crumble

If the tops and bottoms are too time-consuming, you could always make a mince pie crumble. Basically, roll out two-thirds of a batch of sweet shortcrust into the bottom of a baking tray, cover it with mince, and then grate the remaining pastry over the top.  Bake and cut into squares. My mother endearingly called these “fly cemeteries”.  Yummy!

Storage and serving

Store in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze for up to a month.  Serve warm or room temperature and dust with icing sugar before serving.

Use this recipe to make the best Christmas mince pies ever!

Tags: ChristmasFestivemince piespastryRecipes


Related Posts

Anatomy of a choc chip cookie: we tested 8 recipe versions to find the ultimate method
Cooking Guides and Tips

Anatomy of a choc chip cookie: we tested 8 recipe versions to find the ultimate method

February 3, 2023
The Food24 team shares their 2023 kitchen goals
Cooking Guides and Tips

The Food24 team shares their 2023 kitchen goals

February 1, 2023
win-a-mionetto-experience
Competition

Born in Italy, shared in Cape Town

January 27, 2023
Next Post
gingerbread house

Let your Christmas baking project commence: How to make the perfect gingerbread house

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Food24 Team Loves

Tips on how to pack the perfect picnic

Tips on how to pack the perfect picnic

January 14, 2023
How to easily peel boiled eggs: We tested 7 hacks and there’s only one way that really works every time

How to easily peel boiled eggs: We tested 7 hacks and there’s only one way that really works every time

January 2, 2023
roast-pork-leg

6 tips for making the crispiest pork crackling

December 21, 2022
Light and healthy recipes that simply scream ‘summer’

Light and healthy recipes that simply scream ‘summer’

November 19, 2022
air-fryer-dos-and-donts

9 Do’s and don’ts when air-frying at home

October 24, 2022

Recent favourites

  • burger and fries

    It’s true – Hellmann’s Mayonnaise will be discontinued in SA

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Cracking open the myths about canned food – and why they’re great for load-shedding meals

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Secrets to making the perfect tart case

    1 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • We predict 2023’s biggest food trends for home cooks

    1 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Oh, grate! Turns out all four sides of the grater serve a useful purpose

    1 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get weekly access to our best recipes, tips and tricks

Sign Up
Footer

Quick links

  • Home
  • News
  • Videos
  • Win

Collections

  • New Recipes
  • Festive
  • Baking
  • Dessert Recipes
  • Braai Recipes
  • Lunchbox
  • South African Recipes
  • Pasta Recipes

Other links

  • Advertise with Food24
  • Editorial Policy
  • How to Pitch
  • Contact us

Not in the mood to cook?

Visit eatout.co.za to find the perfect restaurant near you.

eatout.co.za

© 2020 Food24.com. All rights reserved.

  • About us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • New Media
IAB
No Result
View All Result
  • Recipes
    • New recipes
    • Recipe round-ups
    • Air fryer recipes
    • Easy weekday meals
    • Cooking with lamb
    • Delicious pork recipes
    • Fish and Tips
    • Braai recipes
    • Chicken recipes
    • Vegetarian recipes
    • Baking
    • Low carb recipes
    • Gluten-free recipes
    • Dairy-free recipes
    • Pasta recipes
    • South African recipes
  • News
    • Food news
  • Videos
  • Cooking guides and tips
    • Baking tips and tricks
    • Load shedding lifesavers
  • Newsletters
  • More
    • Food24 taste tests
    • Eat for good
    • Drinks
      • Non-alcoholic drinks
      • Wine
      • Beer
      • Cocktails
      • Coffee
    • Win

© 2019 Food24.com. All rights reserved.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Fill the forms below to register

Subscribe to Newsletter

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Close
Food24
Recipe Disclaimer

All recipe content is the responsibility of the party from whom such content originated. You agree that you use the content on Food24 at your own risk. Please read our editorial policy.
Close
Food24
Get the latest recipes delivered to your inbox weekly
Promotional Newsletter

Be the first to receive information about competitions and special offers from Food24 and it's partners.

You have successfully been subscribed!
Something went wrong. Please try again.
Make sure you have completed all required fields.
I don't want to see this again