STAR TOPPED MINCE PIES

 

RICH SWEET SHORTCRUST PASTRY

170g plain flour

Pinch of salt

100g unsalted butter

2 tablespoons caster sugar

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons iced cold water

FILLING

1 jar of Extra Special mincemeat

 

TO SERVE

1 Tablespoon of icing sugar for dusting

1. Sift the flour with the salt into a large bowl.
2. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Add the 2 tablespoons of caster sugar and mix through.
4. Mix the egg yolk with 2 tablespoons of water and add to the flour mixture.
5. Mix to a firm dough, first with a cutlery knife, and finally with one hand. It may be necessary to add more water, but the pastry should not be too damp. (though crumbly pastry is more difficult to handle, it produces a shorter, lighter result.)
6. Pre-heat oven to 200 Degrees C.
7. Divide your pastry into 2 approximately 2/3^rds to 1/3^rd. Roll out the larger disc to a 3mm thickness. Out of the rolled out pastry cut out 12 circles a little wider than the indentations in the pie trays. Press the circles into the molds. Roll out the smaller of your pastry discs to a 3mm thickness and cut out 12 stars place the stars on a baking tray. Chill both trays in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.
8.  Place a teaspoon full of extra special mincemeat in the middle of the pastry circles. (Be careful not to over fill with the mincemeat as it will bubble up when cooking and may spill over the pastry causing the pies to stick to the pie tin.) Place the pastry stars lightly on top of the mincemeat.
9. Bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the pie tin and place on a wire rack.
10. Before serving the mince pies dust with icing sugar and serve immediately.

 

 

HINT AND TIPS

Shortcrust pastry tips:

Instead of rubbing the butter into the flour with your finger tips use 2 cutlery knives to chop the butter through until it reaches small pea sizes, then continue rubbing in with your fingers.

Before you start making the pastry, chill your bowl in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. This will help to keep the butter cool.

Always chill your pastry before cooking as this relaxes the gluten and stops the pastry shrinking when it’s cooked.

Always cook pastry at a high temperature to ensure that the flour cooks before the butter melts.

Storing short crust pastry: Uncooked pastry can be stored for up to 24 hours in the fridge. It can be frozen for up to a month if closely wrapped in a double layer of cling film.

Mincemeat:

For a richer mince pie,  add some zest of fresh orange to your mincemeat before you fill the mince pies