Mince Pie Crumble Tarts

Fed up of regular old mince pies? Want to do something a little more creative with your mincemeat? This "posh" version of the classic mince pie is pretty damn yummy especially with a crumbly nutty topping. 

This recipe will make 12 mince pies, but you'll have lots of mincemeat left over to give as gifts in jars or to bake another batch later when they inevitably get eaten without even making it to Christmas Day.


For the Mincemeat:
175g raisins
175g currants
175g sultanas
75g candied peel finely chopped
125g shredded vegetable suet
50g blanched almonds finely chopped
175g demerara sugar
70g natural glace cherries chopped
1 medium Bramley apple, peeled, cored & grated
2 tsp ground mixed spice
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
grated zest and juice of 1 orange
100ml brandy

Put all of the ingredients into a big bowl, mix, cover, then put in a cool place for 24 hours, stirring occasionally. You can use it immediately but I think it's best left for a week or so for the fruit to absorb all of that lovely brandy.

For the Pastry and crumble:
225g mincemeat
225g plain flour
100g butter, chilled and cubed
3 tbsp light muscovado sugar
grated zest and juice of 1 satsuma
2 tbsp flaked almonds
1 tbsp stem ginger syrup
icing sugar for dusting

Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. To make the pastry put the flour into a large bowl and rub in the chilled butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and the satsuma zest.

Take out 4tbsp of the pastry mixture and set aside for the crumble. Add about 4tbsp of juice from the satsuma to the main pastry mix to make a soft dough, kneading gently until smooth. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 mins.

Roll out the pastry onto a lightly floured surface to the thickness of a £1 coin. Stamp out 12 circles of pastry. Gently press these into individual tartlet tins and trim off the edges by rolling your rolling pin over the tins. Put one spoonful of mincemeat into the pastry cases being careful not to overfill them as they do bubble up in the oven.

Sprinkle the pastry crumble mix over the mincemeat, top with the flaked almonds and drizzle with stem ginger syrup. Bake for about 20 mins until golden and cooked through. Cool on a wire rack and serve dusted with icing sugar.