“Mincemeat is perfectly capable of looking after itself. It merely benefits from a little encouragement.”
You Will Need
For the pastry
- 10 oz plain flour
- A good pinch of salt
- 5 oz cold butter, diced
- 3 tbsp icing sugar
- 1 large egg, beaten
- A little very cold water
For the filling
- 10½ oz good mincemeat
- 3–4 tbsp thick-cut orange marmalade
To finish
- 1 beaten egg
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
MRS LOCKWOOD’S METHOD
Put the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl.
Add the cold butter and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Work quickly.
Pastry has very little interest in the warmth of your hands.
Stir through the icing sugar.
Add the beaten egg and just enough very cold water to bring everything together into a firm dough. Do not knead it as though you’re making bread. Handle it lightly, wrap it in a clean cloth or cover it, and leave somewhere cool for approximately 20–30 minutes.
Meanwhile, lightly butter a 12-hole bun tin.
Roll the rested pastry on a lightly floured board until approximately ⅛ inch thick.
Cut twelve rounds slightly larger than the holes in your bun tin and gently press one into each.
Now comes Mrs Lockwood’s addition.
THE MARMALADE
Put approximately half a teaspoon of thick-cut orange marmalade into the bottom of each pastry case.
Not a spoonful.
Not “a little extra because I like marmalade.”
Half a teaspoon.
Place approximately one level tablespoon of mincemeat on top.
Do not overfill the cases.
“Anything you put into a pie must still be there when the pie comes out of the oven.”
Roll the remaining pastry and cut twelve smaller lids.
Brush the edge of each pie lightly with beaten egg, place the lid on top and press gently around the edge to seal.
Use any remaining pastry to make small stars or leaves for the tops if you wish.
Mrs Lockwood considers this perfectly acceptable.
She does not consider it compulsory.
Brush each pie with beaten egg and sprinkle very lightly with caster sugar.
Make a small cut in the centre of every lid so that steam can escape.
Leave the finished pies somewhere cool while the oven heats.
Bake at approximately 375°F / Gas Mark 5 for 20–25 minutes, until crisp and beautifully golden.
Allow them to settle in their tin for five minutes before carefully lifting them out to cool.
HOW TO SERVE THEM
Warm, cold, or with a spoonful of thick cream.
And then:
“If you’ve made a decent mince pie, it shouldn’t require rescuing by anything else.”
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