Mince pie recipe from Pastry chef Peter Beck  - come along on Sunday to get the ingredients (Ad)

December – mince pie recipe from Pastry chef Peter Beck

We're delighted to have Pete, a market regular until he retired, back with us on the 5th and 19th December. He will be selling his delicious mince pies and Christmas puddings, but has kindly shared his recipe for mince pies, if you'd like to make your own. Made or bought, they are delicious served with cold cream, raw or pasteurised, from market regular Hook and Sons.

Pete's Mince Pies

For a luxurious mince pie use an all-butter pastry made with 450g plain flour, 300g cold unsalted butter, 30g caster sugar, 60g ground almonds, a pinch of salt and chilled water to bind. This quantity will make about 36 mince pies.

You will also need mincemeat. This you can make by mixing the ingredients below in a large bowl and leaving to steep for 24 hours, mixing occasionally and adding a glug of brandy or spirits of your choice for a touch of festive cheer. Alternatively, you can buy mincemeat and spice it up with brandy or spirits.

500g of mixed fruit; sultanas, raisins and currants
150g Bramley apple , peeled, cored and chopped fairly small
150g of shredded beef suet
30g whole blanched almond , coarsely chopped
125g natural demerara sugar
30g dark muscovado sugar
1/2 rounded tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 rounded tsp ground mixed spice
1/2 large, juicy lemon
75g whole mixed peel , chopped into small dice

To start, add the flour, salt, sugar and ground almonds to the bowl of a food processor and whizz to mix well, then add the cold butter in pieces and blitz in short bursts until the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs. Transfer to a large mixing bowl, add sufficient of the chilled water and mix with your fingers to form a firm dough. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the refrigerator for one hour.

Before you can assemble the mince pies you will need to have two or three trays of 6.5cm tart tins greased and one each of 8cm and 6.5cm fluted pastry cutters.

Preheat the oven to 190c or 175c fan assisted.

Remove the pastry from the refrigerator, roll thinly and cut an equal number of each size of circle. Line the tins with the larger circle and fill with mincemeat to about three quarters full. Too much and it will spill out, too little and you'll feel cheated. Dampen the edges of the smaller rounds with water and press them onto the bases to form lids. Press firmly around the edges to form a seal. Make two cuts with a knife in each top to allow the steam to escape.

Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown. Remove from the oven and when warm remove the pies from the trays and leave to cool on a rack. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve. If by any chance there are any left they can be stored in an airtight tin for two or three weeks.

The Market will be open on 19th December, then closed until 9th January. A small number of stalls will be at the market on Thursday 23rd for collection of orders.

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November 30, 2021