Nothing in Britain speaks more to you of a festive treat as a Mince Pie
For those of you reading and from afar, please don’t walk away this is a sweet mince pie , with not one bit of meat to be seen
Full of dried fruit in cooked in spices and booze, encased in a crumbly shortcrust pastry, they are the most delicious of morsels that hit the spot of festive baking
Of course in the 12th Century they where made meat and resembled nothing like they are now, they where rectangular. That’s until those sweet toothed Victorians got there hands on them and we get what we have today !!!
But we shoot forward to now, we’ve dropped the meat, added the booze but still kept the spices that The Crusaders brought back with the many moons ago .
History lesson over for this week !!!!
Right now to the bake ….. yep its pastry , every Gluten Free bakers nemesis 😂😂
Shortcrust Pastry is not pastry what that those over the pond strive for….they strive, nay obsess with flaky pastry ( I see it with my own eyes in my baking group 😂😂……. sorry ladies and Darryl but well it is one of the most prized possessions )
With shortcrust pastry we are looking for buttery and crumbley………(oh god butter , double whammy coming for me )
So I needed to think what to do to achieve this, ermmmm after many failed bakes of different reasons, and then even more bakes to check this recipe is consistent and fool proof, I eventually came up with a recipe that well just works.
So we’ve xanthan for stretch, block vegan butter ( DO NOT USE SPREAD IT DOESNT WORK ) and as the egg yolk sub , egg yolk is a standard in rich shortcrust I am using apple sauce !!!!
NOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!! I can here you scream WHYYYYYYYYY????????????????? 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Because it works!!!! You don’t add to much moisture and end up with tough pasty it sticks everything together and its easy to explain
You can use a jar of ready made apple sauce or make your own using some cooking apples and a little water….. I don’t really care 😜😜😜 obviously I’ve opted for homemade but please make sure if you do make your own that it’s cold !!!! Make it the day before and leave it in the fridge
I have chosen to do this in my stand mixer its made the best and most consistence job, no worrying about to warm hands or cold in my case and I can get the same results no matter on my hand temperature
I’m sure you could do the rubbing in with your hand method but I’ve not tried it but feel free, if it looks the same as my pictures you are doing it right !!!I think
Now this year Im taking it easy on you, you can use a jar of mincemeat, just make sure it fits your dietary requirements
But of course you can make your own, here’s a similar recipe to my own because i cant be bothered this year to show you how !!!! 🙊That’s next years post 😂😂😂😂
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mincemeat_2491
Of course you can search a the internet for something similar that takes your fancy !!!
If you are after Gluten Free Vegan Suet I use Suma which is actually vegan too
https://www.sumawholesale.com/suma-suet-vegetarian-6-x-250g-gt028.html
You will also require a shallow tart / bun tin, not a muffin tin similar to this, and we all know how most bakers love a tin purchase 😂😂 so I’m happy to help your tin growth
I think I’ve covered everything , there are a couple of variations for decoration but to be honest for me this post is not only about the Pie its about the pastry
Lets Bake 😜😜😜😜😜
Mince Pies GF, DF V
Crumbly Shortcrust Pastry Pies filled with traditional Sweet mincemeat filling
Suitable for freezing , defrost at room temperature and re heat either in the oven for 5 minutes at or microwave for 10 seconds and enjoy
Ingredients
- 300 g Gluten Free Plain Flour ( If not using own blend I recommend Dove Farm UK or Pilsbury US
- 150 g Fridge Cold Vegan Butter Block not Spread ( Stork Block UK or Earth Balance US )
- 3/4 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum ( omit if your blend contains it )
- 50 g Apple Sauce ( either jarred or homemade )
- 3/4 tsp of lemon juice
- 1 jar of Sweet Gluten Free or Vegan Mince Meat
- 2 tbps of Caster or Granulated Sugar
- 2 tbsp of Soya Milk
Directions
- Add Flour , Baking Powder, Xanthan ( if using ) in a bowl with a whisk until Incorporated in Stand Mixer Bowl
- Cut Butter into even pieces and toss in flour
- Place mix in stand mixer ON LOW setting until it looks like breadcrumbs as shown in the picture . Stir with a spoon or spatula to break any large clumps at the bottom of the bowl
- Weight out the apple sauce and add to the breadcrumb mix
- Juice the lemon and add to the breadcrumb mix……3/4 tsp
- Mix on low until the dough starts to come together and looks like this
- Set Oven at 160 C fan / 180 C / 360 F
- Turn dough out onto a sheet of clingfilm, big enough to wrap the dough,
- Wrap Dough. Push the dough it into a disc and place in fridge for one hour
- Take out of fridge unwrap and place onto a lightly floured piece of parchment , cut into 2/3rd , take a piece of cling film and place over the top ready to roll the dough
- Roll out using a rolling pin to 3mm thick
- Choose appropriate sizes cutters for your pan as seen in the picture one needs to be slightly bigger, YES MY PAN IS OLD AND WELL USED ITS NOT DIRTY !!!!
- Cut out you desired larger discs, left over scraps can be brought back together and re rolled
- Place the discs in the tray and press down gently, if they crack just press the dough back together to smooth the disc back…..dont worry they will be fine you pastry is just a little to cold or too thick
- Fill with a heaped teaspoon of mincemeat
- Roll out the smaller piece of dough and top the way of your choice
- If making full pies dampen the edge with water
- Place the lid on the top and press down gently and cut two slits, brush on some soya milk and sprinkle with sugar
- Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes til golden brown
You need the bigger one even if you are topping with a decorative topping
20, Enjoy
Now I’m going to say this only once !!!
Once you have made these you will never go back to the commercial that are more than lacking …..well they not in preservatives and chemicals
They can be made in advance, frozen , defrosted and perked up in the oven for 5 minute or a quick zap in the microwave……….delicious warm
I’m so excited about this pastry development I will roll it out in the New Year when I hopefully have some more pictures of general bakes I’ve done with it , for a stand alone post
Hope you enjoyed the post.
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Until Next week
💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜BYE💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
