Mince pies

Name: Mince pies
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 24 min
Total time: 44 min
Yield: Makes 24
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: pinch of caster (superfine) sugar, plus extra for sprinkling; 2 tablespoons cream; pinch of salt flakes; 3 egg yolks; Whipped brandy orange butter, to serve; canola oil spray; 1 quantity Mince pie filling; 300 g (10½ oz) Icing (confectioner’s) sugar, sieved; finely grated zest of 1 orange; 480 g (1 lb 1 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature; 3 eggs; 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped; 1 egg yolk; 800 g (1 lb 12 oz/5⅓ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour; 100 g (3½ oz/1 cup) ground almonds; 2 teaspoons salt

Preparation info

Makes
24

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
45 min

Appears in

Chefs Host Christmas Too

By Darren Purchese

Published 2018

About

My record in a year is 16,000 - that’s made not eaten, cheeky! That was at The Savoy in London, where I made around 120 mince pies a day, starting in August to ensure I had enough for the December onslaught! I’ve done my best to scale down my recipe for you here.

Ingredients

480 g (1 lb 1 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1

Europe
United Kingdom
Dessert
Pie
August
Vegetarian
October
November
London
Mediterranean
September
December
Winter

Method

Put the butter, vanilla seeds, orange zest, salt and icing sugar in the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream the ingredients on low speed until pale and smooth, scraping down the inside of the bowl with a spatula to ensure the butter is evenly mixed.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well, then add the egg yolk and m