MINCE PIES

Mince Pies & Meditation

Christmas is in the air! The air is getting colder, I've made mince pies and we've brought our tree inside! We have a potted tree that happily lives in our garden all year round and that we bring inside for Christmas (see below); such a lovely tradition that I've learned from my parents- even in Hong Kong we had a potted tree that lived in the garden all year round. It's the best way, as no trees die, you get a real tree and you only have to buy it once. It's a tree for life! Planet-friendly, fun and cost-effective!

So yes I made mince pies! So exciting! They were such a success too. I made them for my Christmas event at Goldfinger Factory on Thursday 11 December. Thank you so much to those of you who made it, it was such a blast meeting you and connecting with such warm, like-minded and passionate individuals.

I cannot wait to share this recipe with you, as I know those of you who tried them are dying for the recipe so you can make them for your loved ones this jolly season! For those of you who fall into either of the two categories: mince pie sceptics (like my French papa, I will convert him this Christmas) or those who don't know what mince pies are, you must try these! (FYI there is no meat in them nowadays).

Mince pies are simply a crispy, buttery shortcrust pastry with a luxurious and aromatic filling of stewed fruit (apples, raisins, sultanas, currants) that have been simmered in a host of Christmas spices (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, citrus zest) and brandy. As always, forget the processed store-bought versions with a list of unpronouncable ingredients and make your own at home! 

These mince pies are not only gluten-free, grain-free, refined-sugar-free, they are also super simple to put together, they just require time to assemble... The rolling and cutting and rolling and cutting requires patience and determination but after a while the process becomes very soothing and therapeutic. I was baking these until the wee hours of the morning on Wednesday night in preparation for the event on Thursday and as I was meticulously hand-cutting star by star with a little knife (I have since bought a star cookie cutter hooray!), I felt utterly at peace and relaxed. It was a sort of meditation. The repetition of the action and the silence of the night transformed what could have felt like a tedious chore into a tranquil moment of calm and clarity. HAHA! Who knew making mince pies could be meditative?!

I leave you with this yummy mince pie recipe bursting with warming spices and comforting textures. The orange zest in the pastry adds a delightful zing and the ginger and goji berries in the mincemeat are just divine (a nice little Asian touch), not to mention that these two ninja superfoods, obviously enhance the nutritional benefits of these little cutie pies! I have added vegan options for you lovely vegans out there. And I have also added a nut-free version for you nut-allergy people. Hopefully that's (almost) everyone covered! Merry Mince Pie Making!

Mini Mince Pies

Ingredients

Makes 24 mini mince pies

Equipment:

• greaseproof baking paper
• rolling pin (or fashion your own with a round bottle)
• non-stick 12 cup bun sheet or 12 mini cupcake tin (holes shouldn't be too deep)
• 68mm crinkled pastry cutter
• small star cookie cutter

Pastry:

• 200g ground almonds (or 200g gram flour for those with nut allergies)
• 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt or pink himalayan salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tablespoon of maple syrup
• 15g raw salted butter (or coconut oil for vegans)
• 1 free range pastured egg (or 1 chia "egg" for vegans)
• zest of 1 orange, save juice for mincemeat mixture

Mincemeat:

• 2 Bramley apples, cored and chopped finely (no need to peel)
• 200g mixed fruit (I like this mix: 40g raisins, 40g sultanas, 40g currants, 40g cranberries, 40g goji berries)
• juice of 1 orange
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger or a thumb of fresh ginger, grated
• 1 teaspoon of ground mixed spice
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon of orange blossom water
• 3 tablespoons of brandy (optional)
• 25g of salted butter (or coconut oil for vegans)
• 1 small pinch of sea salt (if not using salted butter)

Instructions:

1. Mix together the pastry ingredients with your hands in a bowl until they form a dough, adding a little bit more ground almonds if it's too wet.

2. Cut into 3 pieces and chill in the fridge while you make your mincemeat.

3. Finely chop the apples so that they are about the same size as the raisins.

4. Place all mincemeat ingredients into a large pot and cook on a medium heat, lid on, for about 20 minutes until the apples are soft. Stir every now and then to prevent sticking and add more liquid to loosen if necessary.

5. Lift the lid and allow any extra liquid to evaporate on a low heat.

6. Butter a mini bun sheet / cake tin so they come out easily.

7. Working with one third of the chilled dough at a time, roll the dough with a rolling pin between 2 pieces of baking paper until dough is a few millimetres thick.

8. Use a crinkled pastry cutter (I used a 68mm cutter) that fits the diameter of your cupcake cases to cut several discs of pastry.

9. Use a knife to gently lift each disc and place in the centre of the buttered cupcake hole and press down gently to mould to shape of cupcake hole.

10. Once you've cut out as many discs as you can, re-roll the dough into a ball and roll out flat again with a rolling pin. And repeat with the second part of dough. You should be able to make at least 24 discs from two thirds of the mixture. Keep the remaining third for the star shapes to go on top of your mince pie.

11. Bake the mini pie bases for 5 minutes at 170ºC and remove from the oven.

12. Fill each mini pie base with 1 heaped teaspoon of mincemeat or as much as you can fit.

13. Using a star cookie cutter, cut stars from the remaining dough and gently place on top of each pie.

14. Brush the tops with melted butter or egg wash, sprinkle with a little coconut sugar or rapadura and bake for approximately 10 minutes until lightly golden.

15. Leave to cool for a few minutes and then the mini pies should slide right out, ready to be devoured.