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Makes 8 Fruit Mince Pies
Christmas is a time to be shared with family and friends and it would not be the same without the festive treat of fruit mince pies.
TASTE OF CHRISTMAS FACT
Drawing on fond childhood memories of preparing a homemade treat and leaving it with a glass of brandy for Santa Claus, with a carrot for his reindeer, our recipe includes a sweet crust pastry flavoured with lemon zest, vanilla bean and orange juice. Combined with a good quality fruit mince, such as Robertsons, and a generous dollop of homemade brandy butter, the recipe makes for a true festive treat!
INGREDIENTS
- 90gm Unsalted Butter – room temperature
- 80gm Pure Icing Sugar – sieve
- 30ml Brandy
- 250gm Plain Flour – sieve
- 60gm Caster Sugar
- 1 lemon – finely zest
- ½ Vanilla Bean – use seeds only
- 125gm Unsalted Butter – room temperature
- 1 Egg – crack, separate and use the yolk only
- 40ml Orange Juice
- As required – Olive Oil Spray
- As required – Plain Flour for dusting
- 360gm Fruit Mince (e.g. Robertsons)
- 1 Egg – crack and lightly beat
- 2 tsp Caster Sugar
METHOD
- Pre-heat an oven to a moderate heat – 160°C.
- In a mixing bowl, add the first batch of butter and icing sugar, whisk until the mixture is pale and creamy. Add the brandy, whisk again to thoroughly combine. Place the brandy butter into a serving bowl, cover with cling wrap and place into a refrigerator (remove it from the refrigerator to allow it to soften 30 minutes before you serve the fruit mince pies).
- In a mixing bowl, thoroughly combine flour, 60gm caster sugar, lemon zest, vanilla bean and butter. Add the egg yolk and orange juice and mix until the ingredients come together to form a dough. Remove the dough from the mixer, wrap in cling wrap and place into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to allow the dough to firm.
- Lightly spray oil the required number of moulds of a 7cm diameter by 3cm deep mould muffin tray.
- On a clean, lightly floured surface roll out the pastry to a 2mm thickness. Using a 7cm and 9cm diameter round cutter, cut out 8 x 9cm rounds and 8 x 7cm rounds.
- Place the 9cm rounds of pastry into the prepared moulds, making sure the pastry lines the base and side of each mould and is gently pushed into all the corners. Evenly distribute the fruit mince amongst the pastry bases.
- Lightly brush the top edges of the pastry base with the beaten egg. Top each pie with a 7cm pastry round, gently pressing down so the pastry base and lid are stuck together by the egg.
- Evenly brush the top of each pastry lid with the remaining beaten egg and lightly sprinkle with caster sugar.
- Place the pies into the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the pastry is cooked through and is a light golden brown colour, then remove the tray from the oven.
- Allow the pies to cool for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the pies from the muffin tray. Place onto a cooling rack, and allow to cool for a further 5 minutes.
TO SERVE
Neatly arrange the fruit mince pies on a serving board or platter. Place the bowl of brandy butter with a serving spoon next to the fruit mince pies and allow guests to help themselves.
