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‘King of tarts’ reveals how to make mince pies with 4 ingredients
Mince pies are everywhere at Christmas, but they’re a little bit like Marmite – you either love them, or hate them.
If you’re firmly in the ‘love’ camp, you may have packed a few away so far over the festive season. But before you go out to get another box, you may want to keep reading.
That’s because pastry chef, Matt Adlard, has shared the secrets of making your very own mince pies with Metro — including the type of pastry you should use and whether or not you can freeze the festive treats.
And according to the baker and author from Norwich, dubbed the ‘king of tarts’ by his social media followers, you can easily make the festive snack using just four ingredients.
How to make easy mince pies with just four ingredients
If you aren’t too keen on getting your hands dirty, there is a much quicker, easier, and totally stress-free way to make mince pies, according to Matt – and the best part is, you’ll only need four items to do it.
The pro claims there’s no shame in nipping to the supermarket and buying ready-made shortcrust pastry and a jar of mince meat for your pies.
‘Saves you the hassle on making your own and means you can pull them together in no time,’ he explains.
As an added bonus, Matt says: ‘Store bought shortcrust pastry will already be rolled out so will be a lot easier to handle and cut and save you the stress of melted pastry’.
Using some of Matt’s top tips, we’ve put together a speedy recipe to make the best cheat’s mince pies. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Ready-made short-crust pastry
- Jar of mince meat
- Orange zest or some chopped stem ginger
- An egg (for egg wash)
Simply unroll your pastry, cut it into circles (with 7.5cm round pastry cutter if you have one) and pop them into a greased 12-hole baking tin. Fill each circle with mincemeat.
To really ‘jazz up’ your store-bought mince meat, you could mix in either some orange zest or chopped up stem ginger before adding to the pastry cases. Just make sure you don’t overfill your pies with the filling, or it’ll all ‘explode out’ when baking.
Next, brush the edges of the pies with an egg wash and then top with slightly smaller disks of pastry for the lids. Press gently around the edges to seal.
Matt also suggested adding an extra ‘sweet crunch’ to your pies by sprinkling a little demerara sugar on top after giving them each an egg wash.
Finally, all you need to do is bake at 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let them cool a little, and enjoy!
Matt Adlard’s four tips for perfect mince pies
- Opt for sweet pastry – Matt claims that sweet pastry is the ‘best’ option for mince pies as it’s a ‘nice delicate pastry that melts in the mouth when you bite in’.
- Always use really cold butter – The ultimate top tip for anyone making their own pastry is to use really cold butter. Matt urges people to ‘pop it in the freezer for five minutes before you start using it can stop it from melting in your hands.’
- Dust rolling pin and cutters with flour – When you’re ready to roll out your pastry, be sure to use a good dusting of flour on your work surface to stop it from sticking. He also recommends flouring your cookie cutter too so the dough doesn’t rip when you are trying to cut the discs for the mince pies.
- Add orange zest or chopped stem ginger – stir some into your mince meat for extra flavour.
- Try making tarts instead – If you’re looking to impress guests with your pies, you could always try making unique mince meat tarts instead of the traditional pies. Matt has previously shared a recipe online for sweet pastry cases, which could be used to add a little wow factor.
- If all else fails… just use ready-made pastry from the shops!
Can you freeze mince pies?
According to Matt, there are two ways to do this. Either freeze them when they are uncooked, or after they have been cooked.
‘You can easily freeze your uncooked mince pies. Once you’ve made them, make sure they have cooled before popping them in the freezer in an air tight container.
‘When you are ready to bake, brush an egg wash on top and add a few extra minutes to the bake time until they are nice and golden brown!’
How long should you bake mince pies?
If you freeze cooked mince pies, defrost them overnight in the fridge.
‘Then pop them in an oven at 180C for 5-10 or until the middle feels piping hot (stick a small knife in the centre and pull it out to check the temp),’ says Matt.
‘Frozen mince pies should keep for up to three months as long as they are stored in an airtight container.’
Mary Berry’s ‘Absolute Favourite’ Mince Pie Recipe
Culinary Queen and all-round icon Mary Berry previously shared her classic mince pie recipe on her BBC show, Mary Berry’s Absolute Christmas Favourites.
To give it a go, you’ll need:
175g plain flour
75g cold butter, cubed
25g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
1 large orange, grated zest only
1 free-range egg, beaten
250g good-quality ready-made mincemeat
100g read-to-eat dried apricots, finely chopped
125g uncoloured marzipan, grated
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6 and place a baking sheet inside to heat up.
- For the pastry, either pulse the flour and butter in a food processor until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, or rub the flour and butter together in a large bowl using your fingertips.
- Stir in the icing sugar and orange zest, then stir in the beaten egg and mix until the ingredients just come together as a dough. Wrap the dough in greaseproof paper and chill in the fridge for 10-15 minutes, or until firm.
- When the pastry has rested, unwrap it. Place the greaseproof paper on a work surface and lightly dust with icing sugar. Place the dough on top, dust with icing sugar, then cover with another sheet of greaseproof paper. Roll the pastry between the sheets of greaseproof paper to a thickness of 1-2mm. (If you are confident rolling out pastry you do not need to use the greaseproof paper, but it does help prevent the pastry tearing if the dough is a little sticky).
- Stamp 12 rounds from the pastry using a 8cm/3in fluted pastry cutter. (Any leftover pastry can be frozen and used to make jam tarts.) Line each hole of the muffin tin with one of the pastry rounds and prick the base of each with a fork.
- For the filling, mix the mincemeat with the chopped apricots until well combined. Divide the mixture equally among the pastry cases. Top each tart with some of the grated marzipan.
- Slide the muffin tin onto the hot baking sheet and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until golden-brown and crisp. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm.
This article was first published on December 13, 2023.
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