Mince Pies

It is finally December so I am letting the grinch have his happy ending and slowly getting into the festive spirit. I have been working on Christmas for probably half of this year, imagine pretending it is Christmas for photoshoots in the middle of summer, or writing recipes for Christmas leftovers when everyone else is sunning themselves on a beach somewhere. To some people that sounds like heaven but I like to keep the holidays special, celebrating Christmas even a day before December the 1st just seems wrong. This recipe might seem familiar to some of you, those who have been reading The Boy Who Bakes for years, because I first posted it way back in 2011, unfortunately when I moved my site over to the new design my hosting company deleted my entire blog and with it all the recipes So to make friends and influence people, here is that recipe.

No apologies but this recipe is not the most classic version mince pie, actually its basically the gilded lily of mince pies. Traditionally made with a simple shortcrust pastry I use a sweet pastry, rich with vanilla beans, and as buttery as can be. The filling might be a traditional mincemeat but lurking underneath that dried fruit is a little nugget of almond paste, which just makes a rich tart that bit richer, and trust me it’s delicious! My family have been making a version of these pies for years, since I was little, and in my eyes they're hard to beat. 

If you want to make a big batch of these, the great news is that they freeze wonderfully. Simply bake and cool fully before freezing on a parchment lined tray until solid, then bagging or boxing up (done this way they shouldn't freeze together as a block). Made at the start of the month you can have warm mince pies whenever you want through the christmas season.

Mince Pies
Makes 15-20

Filling
600g Mincemeat, shop bought or homemade
200g marzipan or almond paste, shop bought or homemade
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Sweet Pastry
1 vanilla pod
400g plain flour
35g ground almonds
75g icing sugar
pinch of salt
250g unsalted butter, diced and chilled
2 large egg yolks
approx. 1 tbsp ice cold water

To make the pastry cut the vanilla pod in half through the middle and scrape out the seeds. Add to the bowl of a food processor along with the flour, almonds, icing sugar and salt. Pulse a handful of times until everything is mixed evenly. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and the water and pulse briefly just to distribute, but stopping well before the dough comes together as a ball (the finished texture should be crumbly). Tip the dough out onto the work surface and use your hands to bring together into a uniform dough. Divide the dough into two batches, flatten into discs and wrap in clingfilm, refrigerating for at least an hour or until firm. 

Roll out a piece of the dough on a lightly floured worksurface, rolling to about 3mm thick. Use an 8cm round cookie cutter to cut out as many discs as you can, setting the trimmings aside. Use the pastry discs to carefully line the holes of two 12xhole bun trays. Repeat with the second piece of dough, cutting out 6cm lids. Briefly knead the scraps of dough back together and re-roll cutting out extra discs for more pies. Take the almond paste and roll into small balls, pressing into flat discs and pacing into the base of each pie. Fill each pie level with mincemeat, don't overfill as the pies have a tendency to leak and glue themselves to the tins if you do. Dip your finger in the egg and run around the edge of each mince pie and top with a lid, pressing gently together to seal. Use a knife or a fork to press a couple holes into the lids and finally brush the lids with the remaining egg. Chill the pies for 20-30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan). Once the pies are chilled bake for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry is a golden brown. Allow to cool in the trays for 10 minutes before carefully lifting out and setting onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

Kept in a sealed container these will keep for a week.

Notes: 
You can use homemade mincemeat if you like or even just improve a shop bought version. I like to add some diced stem ginger to shop bought mince meat just to make it a little extra special. 

This recipes use a traditional shallow bun tin, if you use a muffin tin your pastry bases will need to be a little bigger so you will make less, around 15. 

Rum Raisin Ice Cream Sandwiches

Is there such thing as a micro-trend, something happening in just a few places but which feels like the start of something? I don't know, but it definitely feels like ice cream sandwiches are having a moment, three new street food traders have popped up recently here in London, all selling variations of that frozen piece of deliciousness and I'm definitely taken with the idea, actually I'm smitten. Blu-Top Ice Cream is by far the best of the bunch, trading with Kerb, and on Saturdays at my favourite new market, Druid St. Richard, the ice cream peddler behind Blu-Top, creates a choose your own ice cream adventure, letting you choose the ice cream, the cookies and the topping, meaning an endless array of flavours and that's part of the fun, creating the perfect sandwich for you. He is also currently collaborating with Bread Street Kitchen on a special ice cream sandwich dessert menu, available until the end of August, so check that out!

Having a freezer lying empty and crying out for some ice cream I whipped up a batch of oatmeal cookies and some rum raisin ice cream and turned them into sandwiches, and they actually make brilliant prepare ahead desserts, simply whack them in the freezer and they are there waiting for hungry mouths whenever the mood strikes. Make sure that you don't keep them in the freezer for too long as homemade ice cream, made without stabilisers, starts to lose quality after a couple of weeks. 

Rum and Raisin Ice Cream Sandwiches
Makes 15

Oatmeal Cookies
125g unsalted butter, room temperature
200g caster sugar
100g light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g plain flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
150g rolled oats

Rum Raisin Ice Cream
500ml double cream
250ml whole milk
5 large egg yolks
150g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
125g raisins
60g dark rum 

To make the ice cream place the cream and milk into a large saucepan and place over medium heat and bring to the boil. Meanwhile place the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla bean paste into a large bowl and whisk together until combined. Pour the cream mixture over the yolks and whisk to combine. Pour the custard back into the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (if you have a thermometer it should reach between 75-80C). Pour the custard into a clean bowl, pressing a sheet of clingfilm onto the surface of the custard, refrigerating overnight until thoroughly chilled. 

Place the raisins and the rum into a small bowl and cover with clingfilm, setting aside at room temperature until ready to churn the ice cream.

Churn in your ice cream machine according to the manufactures instructions. As the ice cream is almost finished churning tip in the raisins and the remaining rum (should be no more than 2 tbsp remaining) Once the ice cream is finished place into a container and freeze for a couple hours before serving. 

To make the cookies place the butter and the sugars into a large bowl and using an electric mixer beat together until light and creamy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Mix together the remaining ingredients and add to the bowl with the butter and gently mix together to form a soft cookie dough. Press a piece of clingfilm onto the surface of the dough and refrigerate until firm, at least four hours. 

To bake, preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) and line two baking trays with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 30 portions and roll into small balls. Place the cookies onto the prepared baking trays leaving a couple inches between each ball (you may need to bake in batches depending on the size of your trays). Dip a glass into flour and use to press each ball of dough flat (about 1cm thick). Bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes or until very lightly browned around the edges. Allow to cool on the trays for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

To assemble place a scoop of ice cream onto half of the cookies and sandwich together with a second, pressing together to squish the ice cream towards the edges. If you want to dip the sandwiches in chocolate melt 300g of dark chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water and stir in 3 tbsp sunflower oil, setting aside to cool for a few minutes before dipping halfway into chocolate, setting onto parchment to set (the oil helps keep the chocolate fluid when dipping but also helps it set).

Blueberry and Blackberry Tarts with Lemon Verbena

There is something magical about the bounty of fruit that is available over the summer, I obsess about cherries and get over excited about strawberries, my eyes are just so much greedier than my stomach. I would enjoy nothing more than simply lazing away the summer, baking and eating my way around the greengrocers, making a mixed berry sorbet for this week's dinner party, a cherry pie for the BBQ or maybe a peach and vanilla jam to see me through the colder months. The reality is, at least this year, a little different. The lot of a food writer is to develop recipes in advance, Valentine's Day dishes in December and Christmas recipes in the middle of July, so whilst you are in the park enjoying a picnic I’m in the kitchen pretending it’s snowing, Christmas songs playing in the background to keep me company. Because of this I crave everything seasonal. I bought a bunch of flat peaches with the idea of making some fresh summery dessert, but instead they sat on the kitchen counter, patiently waiting, but ended up as the topping for my breakfast granola. Rainier cherries were dealt the same fate, I just didn’t have time. Sometimes though an idea pops into my head that itches away so much that it begs to be made. This tart sprung to mind after seeing an Instagram picture from Tartine Bakery of blackberry and blueberry tarts, they were so beautiful, so pretty that I had to try them. 

In my new flat I've decided to have a little windowsill garden, well attempt one at least, my track record with living things is sketchy at best, I can kill even the hardiest of herbs. So far the garden is on the small side, home to just a few herbs, amongst them my current favourite, lemon verbena. The flavour is almost like a lemon sherbet, not sharp like the citrus itself, but herbal and punchy in flavour, delicious infused into ice cream, or made into a syrup for cocktails (some might describe it as artificial or soapy but if used correctly and not compared with lemon itself I think it is absolutely beautiful). For this recipe I decided to infuse the flavour into a lightened pastry cream, a nice pairing for the sweet and sharp fruits that decorate the tart.

(Note: Turns out Tartine makes the same suggestion for using lemon verbena in the custard, they have a recipe in their first book for a blackberry and rose geranium tart and in the introduction they make a suggestion for a blueberry and lemon verbena tart, very similar to the ones I saw in the picture and effectively for what appears here.)

Blueberry and Blackberry Tarts with Lemon Verbena

Makes 8

Sweet Pastry 
200g plain flour
20g ground almonds
40g icing sugar
1/2 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
125g unsalted butter, diced and chilled
1 large egg yolk
approx. 2 tsp ice cold water

Filling
500ml whole milk
10 lemon verbena leaves
200g caster sugar
2 large eggs
4 egg yolks
50g cornflour
300g blueberries
150g blackberries
Borage flowers (optional)
200ml double cream

To make the sweet pastry place the flour, almonds and icing sugar into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Scrape the beans from the vanilla pod and add to the food processor along with the butter (if using vanilla paste add this instead). Process until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs then add the egg yolk and two tsp of ice cold water, pulse briefly until the mixture just starts to come together as a dough. Tip the mixture out onto the work surface and use your hands to bring together into a uniform dough, avoid overworking the dough and this will make the pastry tough and lead to it shrinking when it bakes. Form the dough into thick short sausage and wrap in clingfilm, refrigerating for a few hours before baking. 

To make the pastry cream place the milk, verbena leaves and half of the sugar into a saucepan and bring to the boil, remove from the heat and allow to infuse for about 20 minutes. Place the pan back on the heat and bring back to the boil. Meanwhile place the eggs, yolks, cornflour and the remaining sugar into a large bowl and whisk together until smooth. When the milk is at a boil pour through a fine sieve onto the egg mixture and whisk together to combine. Pour the custard mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium high heat, whisking constantly until the mixture is very thick. Immediately scrape the custard into a clean bowl and cover with a piece of clingfilm, pressing onto the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming, placing the bowl into the fridge until fully chilled. 

Remove the chilled pastry from the fridge and cut into 6 slices. Roll each slice on a slightly floured work surface until about 3mm thick. Use the discs of pastry to line six 8cm wide tart tins (I use Matfer tart rings for a more professional look), trimming off the excess. Use the trimmings to repeat, using the pastry to line two further tart tins. Place the tarts shells onto a parchment lined baking tray and refrigerate for at least an hour or until firm.

When ready to bake and assemble preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) and line each tart shell with a crumpled sheet of parchment paper, filling with baking beans or rice. Bake the tarts in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes before removing the parchment and beans and baking for a further 5-8 or so minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Allow to cool before filling. To finish remove the chilled pastry cream from the fridge and beat to loosen. Very lightly whisk the cream until it is thickened but not yet holding soft peaks and in three additions, fold into the pastry cream. To assemble fill each tart shell with the lightened pastry cream (also known as crème légère or crème diplomat ) and top with a mix of blackberries and blueberries, decorating with the borage flowers if using. 

These tarts are best served within a few hours of serving as the pastry will begin to soften, if you need them to last a little longer brush the inside of the tarts with beaten egg yolk as they come out of the oven and place back into the oven for a minute or so to dry, this helps create a seal that will keep the pastry crisp for longer.

Espresso, Cocoa Nib Banana Bread

Baking, for me, has always been therapeutic, it was probably the main reason I started to take it seriously in the first place. In a story I have recounted more times than I can count, baking became an escape from a job I thoroughly disliked (suing people for a living definitely didn't make me happy) and baking was my reaction, it was what I thought about as I was sending out summons, whilst I was being sworn at over the phone, it was what made me happy. After The Great British Bake Off, the story of which im sure you dont want to hear again, I decided that I would try and make baking my living: and remember this was after the first series, it wasn't clear to me if being on the show would be a kickstart to any form of career, it definitely felt like moving to London and quitting my job was a big risk. 

Many of my friends who worked in the food industry and baking in particular told me that baking for a hobby and a career were two very different things and I have definitely come to learn that. Baking isn't my escape anymore, it's my constant and I am forever grateful that is the case, but I so very rarely bake for just myself anymore, because the mood strikes. Baking is now my job, when the oven is on the cake or cookies that come out of it are for a magazine article or a book or maybe even a TV show, so when I get a rare opportunity to slow down and bake for pure pleasure, I relish in it. 

I have recently moved into a new flat and after the slightly stressful (read scarily expensive, London rents are so ridiculous) move, things are slowly finding their new homes and I am falling back into my work rhythm. After finishing a project a day earlier than expected I decided the new flat needed christening with something delicious, work baking doesn't count, and I wanted something easy but comforting and not much else can fit the bill so well as banana bread, okay maybe apart from a warm chocolate chip cookie, which I think is the answer to most problems. Instead of the classic banana bread that I make regularly, I ended up making a loaf spiked with coffee and cocoa nibs and it's definitely worth a try, whilst it might not seem the most obvious combination it works so well. This is the sort of cake that I want toasted, spread with a little salted butter and served with my morning coffee, it is sweet but not cloying, and the coffee and the cocoa nibs just work so well together!

Sometimes an idea pops into my head and it sits there for a few days, scratching away, begging to be tried, and this recipe started out exactly like that. I had finished a week of testing fruit recipes for a project and was left with a bunch of bananas slowly starting to head towards banana bread territory and, after unpacking another box from my move, I found my tonka beans and cocoa nibs, the idea of adding these to my recipe popped into my head and wouldn't go away.  

I, of course, tweeted about the idea because, have we met, I have a slight social media addiction! My friend Chloe suggested that I should try the bread with coffee instead and that initial idea was, very temporarily, shelved and I settled on trying an espresso and cocoa nib banana bread and I'm rather pleased with it, the coffee isnt super strong and the mix of the nibs, coffee and banana is delicious!

Espresso and Cocoa Nib Banana Bread

225g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp ground coffee
25g cocoa nibs
250g ripe bananas (weighed without skins)
100ml sour cream
185g light brown muscavado sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
150g unsalted butter, melted

1. To make the banana bread, grease a loaf tin with a little butter and line with a strip of parchment paper, so that the ends hang over the long sides of the pan (this makes removal of the cake a lot easier) and preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) 350F.

2. Place the flour, baking powder, salt, coffee and about 2/3 of the cocoa nibs into a bowl and whisk together to combine. (see tips for adjusting strength of the coffee in the cake)

3. Place the banana into a large bowl and use a fork to mash, until just a few small lumps remain. Add the remaining ingredients and mix together until smooth and uniformly combined. 

4. Pour the flour mixture over the banana mixture and gently fold together, mixing until the flour is just combined, but being very careful not to over mix, as this will make the bread chewy and tough. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and top with the remaining banana, simply sliced through the middle and placed on top, cut side showing. Sprinkle the remaining cocoa nibs on top of the cake, avoiding the banana.  

5. Bake in the preheated oven for about 50-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out just about clean. 

6. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before carefully inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely. Kept wrapped in clingfilm in a sealed container this cake will keep for up to three days but can also be frozen for up to a month (I like to freeze it in individual slices and then I can have a piece whenever I fancy).  

Tips: If you want the coffee flavour to really punch you in the face then I would suggest adding two tablespoons of hot water to the coffee and stirring together before adding to the wet ingredients, this way the flavour will soak into the bread a lot more.

If you want to try this recipe and cant find cocoa nibs I get mine from Sous Chef