Description
A delightful Festive Frangipane Mince Pies recipe featuring a buttery all-purpose pastry filled with spiced mincemeat and topped with a rich almond cream (frangipane). Perfectly baked to golden perfection, these pies are a festive treat served warm or cold with optional custard, cream, or ice cream.
Ingredients
Scale
All Butter Pastry
- 220 g plain flour (all-purpose)
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 115 g unsalted butter
- 60 ml ice cold water
Fruit Filling
- 350 g mincemeat (fruit filling)
Almond Cream (Frangipane) Topping
- 1 zest of orange
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 115 g unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs
- 100 g ground almonds (almond meal)
- 20 g plain flour (all-purpose)
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 30 g flaked almonds
- 1 tablespoon powdered icing sugar
Instructions
- Make the Pastry: Rub the butter into the flour and salt mixture until the butter pieces are the size of large peas. Add the ice cold water gradually and gently toss with your fingertips until the dough begins to hold when pressed.
- Form and Chill Dough: Shape the dough into a disc, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to chill and rest.
- Prepare Pastry Cases: Remove the dough from the fridge and let it rest at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes to soften slightly. Roll out the dough to a ¼ inch thickness on a lightly floured surface and cut out 9 cm diameter rounds. Lightly flour a cupcake tray and press each dough round into the holes to form cases.
- Fill with Mincemeat: Spoon two tablespoons of mincemeat fruit filling into the base of each pastry case.
- Make the Frangipane: Rub orange zest into the granulated sugar to release oils. Cream the sugar and unsalted butter together with electric beaters until pale and creamy. Lightly whisk the eggs and add them to the mixture, beating for about a minute until combined (the mixture may look curdled). Add ground almonds, flour, and salt, then beat until thick, creamy, and fully combined.
- Top the Pies: Pipe or spoon the frangipane almond cream over the fruit filling in each pastry case. Sprinkle flaked almonds evenly on top.
- Bake: Cover the entire cupcake tray with an aluminium foil tent. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for an additional 15 minutes or until the pastry and almond cream turn golden brown.
- Cool and Serve: Allow pies to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Dust with powdered icing sugar. Serve warm or cold, plain, or with custard, cream, or ice cream.
Notes
- Use cold butter when making the dough to ensure a flakey pastry.
- Do not overwork the dough to avoid tough pastry.
- Feel free to get creative and enhance your mincemeat fruit filling with extra flavors.
- If the frangipane looks curdled after adding eggs, continue mixing as it will come together with ground almonds and flour.
- Always tent the cupcake pan with foil when baking to prevent over-browning.
- Store pies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
- Freeze baked pies in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator and re-crisp in a 180°C (350°F) oven for 10 minutes before serving.
- Refer to the blog post for helpful step-by-step photos to guide the process.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pie
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 140 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 34 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
