Christmas tarts or pies with brandy cream

Mince pies and are a Christmas classic, if the traditional pie is not to your taste, give the Christmas tarts a go. Serve warm with brandy cream.

Mince pies

Makes 18 small pies.

Ingredients:

• 150g unsalted butter
• 300g plain flour
• 1 egg yolk
• a little cold water
• 375g good-quality mincemeat
• icing sugar for dusting

Set the oven at 200°C and spray a 12-hole tart tin with baking oil (It is best to bake the pies in one batch of 12, then a second one of six).

Cut the butter into small pieces and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until you have what looks like coarse, fresh breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk, then mix briefly with just enough water to bring to a smooth dough. You will probably need just 1 or 2 tablespoons.

Bring the dough together into a firm ball, then knead it gently on a floured board for a couple of minutes until it softens. Reserve half of the dough, then roll the remainder out thinly.

Using cookie cutters or a small glass the size of an espresso cup; cut out 18 discs of pastry. (There may be a tiny bit left over.) Place 12 discs of the pastry in the tartlet tins, smoothing them up the sides so the edges stand very slightly proud of the tin.

Fill each one with a dollop of mincemeat. A level tablespoon is probably all you will get into them unless you have especially deep tins. Be generous.

Roll out the remaining pastry and make a further 18 discs of pastry, reserving 6 of them for the second batch. Slightly dampen each of these round the edge with cold water then lay them over each tart and press firmly to seal the edges.

Cut a small slit in the centre of each pie, if you have excess pastry make a holly leaf or start to top it off.

Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Let them calm down for a few minutes, then slide them out of their tins and serve warm, dusted with icing sugar. Repeat with the remaining pastry and mincemeat.

Christmas tarts

Makes 24.

Ingredients

• 150g unsalted butter
• 295g plain flour
• a little cold water
• For the filling:
• 200g golden syrup
• 75g sultanas
• 50g candied peel
• a pinch of mixed spice
• 25g butter
• 4 soft amaretti di Saronno or 4 tbsps plain, soft cake crumbs
• 1 large egg, beaten

Spray a 12-hole tart tin with baking oil.

To make the pastry, cut the butter into small chunks and rub it into the flour with your fingertips. It should resemble coarse, fresh breadcrumbs. Sprinkle a little cold water over the crumbs and bring them together with your hands to form a soft, but not sticky, ball. Pat the dough into a sausage the same diameter as your tart tins and chill in the fridge for half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 190°C.

To make the filling, warm the syrup in a saucepan with the dried fruit, mixed spice and butter, then stir in the amaretti or cake crumbs.

Remove the pan from the heat, then stir the beaten egg into the mixture.

Cut the roll of pastry into 24 thin slices, then use each to line a tart tin. Trim the edges with a small knife.

Divide the filling between the tarts, but don’t overfill them, with the excess pastry make a wee star or decoration to top the tarts.

Bake till golden and bubbling – about 15-20 minutes.

As the pastry is very rich, the finished tarts are very fragile so let them cool in their tins for 8-10 minutes before removing them.

Brandy cream 

• 30ml cream
• 2- 3 tbs icing sugar
• 3 tbs brandy

Whip together the cream and icing sugar to soft peaks then fold in the brandy.