Tarts & Pies
Super Easy Fruit Mince "Pies"
Based on my Hungarian tart recipe, these mince pies are more shortbread than traditional pie, but take very little effort.
Truth be told, fruit mince pies are not at the top of my list of things to bake at Christmas. I am relatively indifferent to fruit mince and all that rolling of pastry feels more effort than it is worth! If I am going to make a "traditional" version, then I want it to feel extra special. My cherry and amaretto pies are my go-to.
I have based this mince pie recipe on my Hungarian tart, which I shared with you all for Diwali. It was super popular and got thousands of views. I am always trying to innovate with my bakes, whilst keeping flavours as close as possible to the original. Instead of a Hungarian tart slice, which you can still make with a layer of fruit mince instead of a layer of jam, I have used the shortbread base and pressed them into individual muffin cases (I used a friand tin, so it has a more interesting shape, but a muffin tin works as well – and if you really want to, a mini muffin tin can also work).
I have used my homemade fruit mince filling. I love that I can include the fruit, flavours and spices of my choice when I make it at home and can play with the level of sweetness. To see me make it, check out my Instagram reel. In a time crunch, feel free to use store-bought fruit mince. Whatever you choose to use, this recipe will be scrumptious, no doubt!
The recipe
Super Easy Fruit Mince "Pies"
Makes 12 – 15 mince pies
adventureswithsugar.com/super-easy-fruit-mince-pies/
Method
Method: traditional fruit mince
- Bring to a boil: Add all the ingredients to a pot except for the vanilla, brandy and preserved ginger. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to a gentle simmer.
- Simmer until thick: Cook on medium heat for about 20 to 30 minutes until the mixture has thickened, stirring the mixture regularly to prevent sticking.
- Add the brandy, vanilla and ginger: About 5 minutes before it is done, stir in the brandy, vanilla and fold in the preserved ginger. Let cool completely before using. If the mixture feels too thick, thin it out with a bit of boiling water.
- Taste and adjust: Adjust sweetness with sugar and lemon juice and spices to taste.
- How much you need: You will need approximately 300g to make this recipe.
Method: mince pies
- Preheat the oven and prepare the tin: Preheat the oven to 200˚ Celsius. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with non-stick baking spray, such as Spray and Cook. If you are really worried about sticking, you can use cupcake liners.
- Combine the dry ingredients: Place all the dry ingredients, except the icing sugar for dusting and the cold butter into a large bowl.
- Rub in the butter: Whisk to combine, then drop in the cold butter and rub with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
- Bring the dough together: Continue to work the mixture until it holds together and you have a pliable dough. Remove about a third and put it into the fridge to firm up, as this will be the crumble topping.
- Press in the bases: Press the remaining mixture into muffin tins to form a base, being mindful to press the dough well into the edges, so that the edge of the case is not too thick.
- Fill and top with crumble: Fill to a level top with the fruit mince, then remove the remaining dough from the fridge and crumble on top of the fruit mince.
- Bake and cool: Bake for around 20 – 25 minutes, until the tops of the pies have turned a golden brown. Then remove and let cool for about 30 minutes, before trying to turn out. If they do not cool a bit, they will be too soft to remove and will just crumble.
Comments (1)
Tracy Schimper
Thanks so much, wish i'd found this sooner. It appears Safari are no long making their fruit mince which I'ved used for years and so i adapted my fruitcake recipe. I'm going to try yours, but wanted to double check, the 1,5tsp of cloves seems excessive, is this a typo?
Leave a comment