MINCEMEAT TARTS WITH BUTTER PASTRY

Makes approximately 20

These delicious tarts shouldn’t be reserved just for Christmas.


Ingredients:

Pastry
225g/ 8 oz Homepride Plain Flour

175g/ 6 oz butter, cut into small pieces

15 ml/ 1 tbsp caster sugar

1 egg, size 3, separated

½ orange, grated rind and juice

350g – 450g/ 12 oz – 1 lb mincemeat

30 ml/ 2 tbsps brandy (optional)

Caster sugar to dust

Orange zest strips for decoration


Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 200 °C/ 400 °F/ gas mark 6.

2. To prepare the pastry, sieve the flour into a medium bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

3. Dissolve the caster sugar in the egg yolk with 10 ml (2 tsps) orange juice. Add to the flour mixture with the grated rind of ½ an orange. Mix together with a round bladed knife to form a firm dough.

4. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly until smooth. Roll out the pastry to about 0.5 cm ( ¼ - inch) thick. Cut out about twenty rounds using a 7.5 cm (3 – inch) fluted cutter and twenty smaller rounds with a 5.5 cm ( 2 ¼ - inch) fluted cutter.

5. Line deep patty tins with the pastry, and place a heaped 5 ml teaspoon of mincemeat, mixed with brandy if liked, into each base.

6. Dampen the edges of each tart and place the smaller rounds firmly in position on top of the pies. Seal well.

7. Lightly beat the remaining egg white and glaze each mincemeat tart, before making a small hole in the top of each using a skewer.

8. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes until light golden brown. Immediately sprinkle with caster sugar and orange zest strips, and leave to cool on a wire rack.


Cook’s Notes:

Time: Preparation takes 25 minutes, baking takes 15 minutes.

Serving Ideas: Carefully remove the lids and serve warm with brandy butter piped in the
centre, then replace the lids.

Cook’s tip: Use pastry trimmings to make holly and berry decorations. Cut out star shapes for the tops of pies for a more unusual appearance. Particularly suitable for freezing and re-heating.