Christmas Mince Pies Recipe

Christmas Mince Pies Photo: Jackie Cameron

“My desired delight over the Christmas period, a family tradition, to always make a wish on the first eaten. The orange and Van Der Hum flavours of the mince-meat add an interesting and un-expected flavour within the mouth.”

— Jackie Cameron

Christmas Mince Pies Recipe

Pastry

Yields: 850g of pastry

Ingredients:

• 250g salted Butter

• ½ cup White Sugar

• 1 whole Egg

• 3 cups Cake Flour

• 5ml Baking Powder

Method:

1. Beat butter, sugar and the eggs.

2. Add the rest of the sifted ingredients.

3. Hand-line thinly, using half of the pastry, small cupcake moulds using ones finger tips. Prick with a fork and oven bake at 160°C for 5-10 minutes or until cooked, cool, add below mince meat, grate left over pastry over mince meat. Place back in the oven at 180°C until pastry is cooked about ten minutes.

Orange Marmalade and Van der Hum Mince Meat

Yields: 1.6kg - store left over mince meat in a sterilised bottle

Ingredients:

• 300g Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and grated

• 150g Suet, shredded

• 360g Raisins

• 200g Currants

• 100g Candied Peel

• 216g Treacle Brown Sugar

• 120ml freshly squeezed Orange Juice

• 1 Orange, zest

• 65ml Lemon Juice

• 1 Lemon, zest

• 30ml Marmalade Jam

• 50g Almonds - blanched, whole

• 100ml Van Der Hum

• 50ml Brandy

• 20ml Mixed Spice

• 1/2 Nutmeg, grated

• 1/4t Cinnamon, ground

Method:

1. Mix all the above ingredients together, leave overnight, place into the oven the next morning in a tray - covered with tinfoil at 130°C for 1½ hour - 2 hours or until the suet is melted and coating the fruit mix.

2. This can be kept in an airtight bottle for months.

Please post your comments and any food-related questions below. I look forward to hearing from you.