I make my own mincemeat every year and classic mince pies but was getting a bit bored with these. I had some filo pastry left over after making cranberry and brie parcels so decided to make a batch of frangipane and top the mincemeat with this. The result… mouthwateringly good frangipane and mincemeat pies, and bad because I could not stop eating them! You will need a mini muffin pan. Makes 24.
Ingredients
For the frangipane:
- 50g unsalted butter, softened
- 100g caster sugar
- 115g ground almonds
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- zest of a tangerine
For the filo mincemeat pies:
- Packet of filo pastry
- 100g butter, melted
- 400g mincemeat (I used homemade mincemeat)
- icing sugar for dusting
Method
For the frangipane:
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy using a kitchen mixer.
- Add the ground almonds and beat on medium speed until completely blended. Next, slowly add the eggs at a time until completely incorporated.
- Add the flour and salt and beat. Then stir in the tangerine zest. This will keep in a sealed box in the fridge for up to a week.
For the filo mincemeat pies:
- Take one sheet of filo pastry from the pack and cover the remainder with a damp tea-towel so it does not dry out. Cut in half as this is easier to work with. Brush one half with a little of the melted butter. Cut this into 16 rough 5cm squares. Take three of the squares and place them on top of each other, placing each at a slight angle to the one underneath (forming a star shape).
- Place each stack of three pastry squares into one hole of a mini muffin tin, to make an empty pastry case. Repeat with the remaining pastry until all 24 holes are filled.
- Place around one heaped tsp of mincemeat into each pastry shell and top with one heaped tsp of frangipane. Brush tarts with any remaining butter and place in the top oven at around 200ºC until golden.
- Remove from the oven, allow to cool on a wire rack and lightly dust with icing sugar before serving.