Bake Me Happy – Mincemeat recipe – Filo mince pies

We are really proud to work with our friend Joy from Bake Me Happy who is going to be giving us a new recipe every month.

I am no baker, but I have been on Joy’s bread making course and it was amazing. I left feeling very inspired, and so Joy was a natural choice for our monthly baking inspiration blog.

Here is our first addition… Mincemeat…Just in time for Christmas.

This quantity fills 6 standard jam jars (227g/8oz), or 12 small ones.

Mincemeat is so easy to make, and as it cooks it fills the house with a lovely Christmassy smell!

You can make this recipe your own by increasing or decreasing the amount of spice, changing the type of alcohol, the amount of lemon or orange zest, the type of nuts and even the fruit you use. You could substitute some of the raisins and sultanas for dried dates, figs or apricots.

You can use this mincemeat straight away, or keep it, unopened in sterilised jars for up to a year. If you use butter instead of suet it’s best to use the mincemeat within 1 month.

 

Ingredients to cook:

500 grams sultanas

500 grams raisins

3 large cooking apples

Juice (and zest if you like) of 3 oranges

juice of 1 lemon

100 grams mixed peel (optional)

350 grams dark brown soft sugar

2 tablespoons golden syrup

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 teaspoons ground nutmeg

3 teaspoons mixed spice

Optional: 100 grams chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts all work well) 

After cooking add:

100 grams suet or vegetable suet or butter

4 tablespoons (50ml) calvados, brandy or rum

Method:

1. Peel and grate the apples and put the into a large, non-stick saucepan.
2. Measure out the remaining ingredients that need to be cooked and add them to the pan.
3.  Put the pan on the stove over a medium heat and let it simmer gently for 30-40 minutes until the fruit has plumped up and most of the liquid has evaporated.
4. As the mincemeat cooks, sterilise your jars. First wash them well in warm soapy water, rinse them and place on a baking tray. Let them dry out and sterilise in a low oven (100 degrees C) for at least 20 minutes. Meanwhile sterilise the lids by boiling them in a pan of water for a couple of minutes. Leave them in the water until you need them.
5. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the suet, nuts and alcohol, stirring well to coat everything with the melting suet.
6. Use a spoon or a funnel to divide the hot mixture into the hot, sterilised jars, and screw the lids on immediately. Leave the jars to cool. You may need to re-tighten the lids when they are cool.

…….and Filo Mince Pie Triangles!

 

Last year I came up with a new version of the classic mince pie, when I had some spare filo pastry to use up…..and I like them even more than the traditional ones!

To make 18 Filo mince pies, you just need a packet of shop bought filo pastry (you won’t use all of it), 100grams melted butter, and a 228g jar of your homemade mincemeat.

Cut the filo into long thin rectangles (approx. 25cm x 10cm) and, working one at a time, brush the pastry generously with melted butter. Then place a teaspoonful of mincemeat at the top of the pastry, and fold the corner over, again and again until the mincemeat is encased in a neat triangle of filo.

Brush the top with butter, place on a baking tray lined with baking paper, and when you’ve repeated the process with the rest of the mincemeat, bake for 15-18 minutes at 200 degrees C until the pastry is golden and crispy.

Allow to cool, and then dust them with icing sugar to serve.