Christmas is coming! Mince Pies with Home-made Mincemeat and Home-made Brandy Butter!

Hullo!

Mince pies are a vital part of the Christmas build up. I love settling down for a mince pie and a mulled wine after spending 2-3 hours decorating the house so it's all Christmas-y! They are a bit like Marmite though as some people really cannot stand them- they must be bonkers!!!! My mince pies are slightly different to those most people make. Traditionally the pastry is soft and has an almond taste (owing to the almond flour people use). I use a short bread pastry which gives the mince pie a more crunchy texture. I also use my own home-made mincemeat. They are divine, so many people have commented how nice they are. I have just parcelled up and posted 4 off to my Grandpa as he loves them so much! They are clearly not as nice as Mamma's though! :D

I start mid-way through November by making the mincemeat. In a large bowl I combine the ingredients below and leave it to steep for a few days. Once it's steeped I put it into sterilised jars and leave it to mature for about 2 weeks.

NOTE: To sterilise the jars I wash them in hot soapy water, making sure I wash all of the soap suds off. Then I put the jars into a preheated oven (140 degrees celsius) on a baking tray for a few minutes. If you have a dishwasher just washing them in there is enough to sterilise them.

 

Home-made Mincemeat 

Ingredients

• 1 grated apple (cored and peeled)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 110g chopped dried apricots
• 110g chopped dried pear and apple
• 110g chopped figs
• 110g chopped dates
• 110g quartered glace cherries
• 500g sultanas
• 200g mixed peel
• The juice and grated zest of 1 orange
• 4 tbsp orange marmalade
• 175g soft light brown sugar
• 175g demerara sugar
• 4 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 150ml dark rum
• 150ml brandy

Once it gets to around the 1st of December the tree is up and it's time to make some mince pies to accompany my mulled wine! I like to serve mince pies warm with brandy butter so firstly I make that. It is very quick and easy and tastes beautiful!

Home-made Brandy Butter:

Ingredients:

• 125g unsalted butter
• 125g icing sugar
• 4 tbsp brandy
• 2 tbsp hot water

Method:

1. Cream the butter and icing sugar until smooth.
2. Add the brandy and water and combine fully.
3. Try not to eat!
4. Empty into a tupperware container and put in the fridge to set. It will last for quite a while. I use mine all throughout December.

Mince Pies

I make deep filled mince pies so I start by pre-heating my oven (200 degrees celsius) and getting my baking tray ready. I use a 12 hole muffin tin and the pastry goes directly into the holes so the tray needs to be well buttered to stop the mince pies from sticking.

Then I get all my ingredients/equipment that I will need.

Ingredients:

• 225g unsalted butter (this must be straight from the fridge, it needs to be cold)
• 350g plain flour
• 100g golden caster sugar
• Flour, for dusting the work surface with
• 1 egg beaten, for egg washing the tops
• 20g of golden caster sugar and 2 tsp of cinnamon mixed together in a small bowl. This is for sprinkling on top of the egg washed mince pies.
• About 300g of home-made mincemeat

Equipment:

• Wooden rolling pin (it must be wooden, if it's plastic the pastry sticks to it)
• Large circular cutter, for cutting out the bottom of the mince pies
• Medium fluted circular cutter, for cutting out the top of the mince pies
• Pastry brush
• Small Christmas cookie cutters (I use a holly leaf, Christmas tree and a star)
• Teaspoon

Method:

• I dice the butter and put it into a large bowl. I find dicing it helps when rubbing the flour into it.
• Then I sift the flour into the bowl and rub it into the butter until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
• Then I add the caster sugar to the mixture and rub this in also. NOTE: I do not use any piece of equipment to mix these ingredients. I simply use my hands.
• Once the ingredients are combined I half it. I put one half in another bowl and place it in the fridge to keep it cool while I get on with making the bottom of the mince pies.
• This is the tricky part. I dust my work surface with flour and combine the pastry together (as much as possible) by compressing it with my hands. Then I put it onto the work surface.
• The pastry is very crumble and it does take patience and continued effort to do the next step, which is to roll it out. It will crack and crumble, particularly around the edges. What I do is push the cracks back together to smooth the cracks and continue rolling. I find its easier to focus on rolling out a section if the pastry at one time. For example, I will roll over the same 3cm section over and over again and them move onto the next 3cm. I takes a while but eventually you will get it, I promise!

 

• Then I cut out the bottoms with the large circular cutter and lower them into the muffin tin holes, this ends up a bit messy as they don't fit perfect. There is a little extra bit of pastry but this isn't a problem I simply use my fingers to smooth it a little. Inevitably there will be rips, this is okay, just fill them in with a little bit of pastry.

• Once that is done using a teaspoon fill each mince pie bottom with mincemeat. Do not over fill as this will bubble out of the sides during baking and your mince pies will get stuck!
• Then I put the half constructed mince pies in the fridge (to keep them cool while and make the tops) and take out the remainder of the pastry mix.
• I roll out this half of the pastry as I did in step 6.
• Then I cut out the tops using the medium fluted, circular cutter.
• I grab the half constructed mince pies out of the fridge and top them.
• I use the pastry brush to 'paint' a little bit of the egg wash on each top.
• Then I cut out some decorations  from the rolled out pastry (small holly leaves, Christmas trees and stars) and place them on the tops.
• I use the pastry brush to egg wash the decorations then use a teaspoon to sprinkle a, rather thick layer, of my sugar and cinnamon mix in top of each mince pie.

• Then I pop them in the oven for 20 minutes
• Once they are done I take them out and leave them to cool for a few minutes.
• To stop them from sticking, once the tray is cool enough to touch (it will still be warm though), I use a knife and cut around the edges and try spinning each mince pie so I know it won't stick.
• Then carefully placing the knife down one side of the mince pie I left them out. Again the tray will still be warm. If you let the mince pies cool down completely before removing them they will get stuck! 
• Once cool sprinkle with a little icing sugar.
• Serve warm with home-made brandy butter!

It is a faff, it takes me about 1 hour (including baking and cleaning time) to make 12, but it is worth it; they taste great and look fabulous!

NOM NOM! I challenge you to eat just one!

Enjoy

xoxo

Christmas is coming!!! Christmas Chutney! Sweet or Savoury based?

Hullo!

It won't be long now. Just 6 Saturdays until Christmas. I love it!

I have my Christmas Cake made and steeping away in the kitchen. Now it is time to turn my attention to Christmas Chutney. I love cheese and crackers at Christmas and pork pie and it's hard to think of something that can make them even better but chutney does it. I normally pick Red Onion Chutney or Tomato and Chilli Chutney from the shop. Last year, however, I decided to make my own. I followed Nigella Lawson's recipe in her Christmas Book. On page 234/5 you'll find her deliciously sweet recipe. This was a fruit based chutney with a lot of apples, cranberries and dates. And I very much enjoyed it! If you don't have her book you can find a similar recipe of her's here. It really is gorgeous particularly with a bit of Brie.

This year I decided to try a more savoury recipe and so I opted for another culinary genius' recipe; Mary Berry! I have, for the first time, this year watched The Great British Bake Off all the way through from the start and so when it came to making Christmas Chutney I perused the internet for inspiration and there she was. I couldn't resist! You can find her recipe on the BBC Good Food website. As mentioned previously it is a more savoury based recipe with tomatoes, peppers and aubergine.

The recipe is simple and clear and very easy to follow. This years chutney lead me to peel tomatoes for the first as per Mary's instructions and it worked a treat. I must emphasise Mary's advise that the pan should not be left unattended as it is very easy for the chutney to burn, particularly at the end. But apart from that it is such a fantastic recipe to follow, have fun if you decide to make some. 

My Mary Berry chutney is now maturing in my kitchen cupboards and I look forward to trying it. It lasts for ages so you can mature it well in advance. Now all I need is my cheese and biscuits (roll on the Lincoln Christmas Market- which has an an array of amazing cheese stalls!).

Enjoy!

I know we will.

xoxo

 

(Bit late but oh well) Bonfire Toffee!!!!!

Hullo,

So this is a little late as it was the 5th yesterday but there are still loads of bonfires going on so here goes.

I love toffee. Especially Thorntons Special Toffee but in November only that dark treacle based toffee will do. When I moved I found it hard to find a shop to buy it from so I decided to try and make it myself. Who would have known it'd be so easy...or so I thought when I saw the ingredients list.

All you need is:

450g dark brown sugar
125ml hot water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
115g black treacle
115g golden syrup

I use this BBC Good Food Recipe! It is really straight forward but be very careful when boiling the mixture as boiling sugar will severely burn you if spilt.

Here are a few tips for making bonfire toffee:

• Use a VERY deep pan. Whilst boiling the mixture froths up ridiculously and may escape if you use shallow pan leaving a lovely mess all over your cooker that will be a nightmare to clean.

• Use a sugar thermometer. This is the only way you'll be able to guarantee you have boiled the mixture to the correct temperature (known as soft crack). A meat thermometer is no good, it does not go high enough on the temperature scale and you risk damaging it as the mixture boils.
• As mentioned in the BBC recipe grease your jug you use to measure out the treacles and cream of tartar, this really does help when you pour this out into the sugar and water.
• Have a very hot (use boiled water from the kettle), soapy sink ready to soak your pan in once you have poured the mixture out. It saves a lot of work later. I soak it for a bout an hour before I attempt to clean it.
• If your pan does become caked in a sticky mess (or any other mess when cooking/baking) you can use bicarbonate of soda, vinegar and hot water to remove tough dirt/stains. Soak over night and clean normally the next day.
• To break into small pieces keep the toffee in the baking tray and cover with a layer of baking parchment then bash with a rolling pin. The first year I did this I made the mistake of not covering it with baking parchment and bonfire toffee was showered all over my kitchen, doh!
• When eating it do not try to chew it! It will weld your teeth together (as bonfire toffee should!).

Enjoy

xoxo