Every year, I like to give friends homemade treats. I gather recipes from various sources throughout the year (okay, mostly from the ‘edible Christmas presents’ blog posts that pop up at the end of the year) and experiment with them. I have the staples, the tried and true recipes that make an appearance every year, but I also like to try new things. This is what I tried this year.
I’ve posted this recipe before but it’s such a good one, I’ve posted again! It took me ages to find the right pastry to match the delicious mince, so I hope you enjoy.
Ingredients:
Fruit mince recipe
470g can crushed pineapple
¼ cup brown sugar
1 cup sultanas
½ tspn cinnamon
1 cup raisins
½ tspn nutmeg
¼ cup currants
1 tbsn cornflour
¼ cup apricots
¼ cup brandy
1 apple
Peel and grate apple. Combine all ingredients in saucepan except cornflour and brandy. Stir over medium heat until mixture boils, reduce heat, simmer 3 minutes or until fruit is plump. Blend cornflour with brandy, mix into hot fruit mixture. Stir until mixture boils and thickens. Cool before filling into pie shell.
Pastry recipe
1 cup plain flour
1 egg, separated
1 tbsn icing sugar
1 tbsn iced water (approx)
1 tbsn custard powder
1 tspn finely grated lemon rind
90g cold butter, chopped coarsely
1 tbsn white sugar
Grease 12 round based patty pan (or metal pie shells). Process flour, icing sugar, custard powder and butter until crumbly. Add egg yolk and enough of the water to make the ingredients come together. Knead dough on lightly floured surface until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Roll two-thirds of pastry until 3mm thick. Cut rounds to fit patty pan or shells. Repeat until all 12 are filled. Spoon fruit mix into pastry cases.
Roll reserved pastry until 3mm thick. Fashion pie lids in whatever shape you desire. Place over fruit mixture, brush with egg white and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake pies 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Stand for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool.
=======================================
And that’s it, peeps. All over red rover. I hope you enjoyed the recipes are are inspired to try them yourself.
