This post is sponsored by Doves Farm Flour

What makes a good mince pie? The two elements are just pastry and mincemeat and with both you have lots of directions you could go in and lots of styles you could try. My favourite mince pie s uses pastry which is incredibly flaky and full of flavour. To take that idea I have made a pastry with Doves Farm Organic White Spelt Flour (you could also happily use the wholemeal version). For me, white spelt flour is great when you want something that doesn’t stray too far from the classic flavour, but you just want a touch more depth and a little nuttiness. Spelt is also one of the easiest flours to use if your wanting to try different grains but are concerned about how the flour will work in your recipes, spelt is often a 1:1 swap for traditional plain flour. 

For the filling I have stuck to shop bought mincemeat. This might be seen heretical to some, but you know what? It’s a busy season and I’ll happily take a short cut here and there, don’t come for me or I will tell you how I also use shop bought puff pastry. If you’re better than me and want to make your own mincemeat then I would choose a untraditional style and make something that is a little closer to a Eccles cake filling, less syrupy than traditional mincemeat, it would great in this style pastry. Since I am being a little lazy with the mincemeat I am adding a second filling, a custard with a touch of booze, because boozy custard is the appropriate filling as far as I am concerned when it comes to Christmas. 

The key to this flaky pastry is keeping the pieces of butter large, when the pastry is formed these chunks of pastry become thin shards that appear throughout the pastry meaning that when the pastry hits the hot oven the water in the butter evaporates and creates lots of flaky layers. Making this pastry with Doves Farm White Organic Spelt is the same process as with plain flour, so there is no need to stress about making these. The recipe is simple and more than achievable. 

Doves Farm Organic White Spelt Flour is available from Ocado, Tesco, Sainsburys and dovesfarm.co.uk 

Mincepie and Custard Hand Pies
Makes 8

Spelt Flaky Pastry 
300g Doves Farm Organic White Spelt Flour
2 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
250g unsalted butter, diced and chilled 
125ml ice cold water

Custard
150ml whole milk
15g cornflour
50g caster sugar
1 large egg
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 tbsp rum, brandy or amaretto

Filling
350g mincemeat

To make the pie dough place the flour into a large bowl and mix together with the salt and sugar. The sugar is optional but it helps promote browning in the dough and helps it have flavour of its own so I tend to use it regardless of whether I am making a sweet or savoury pie, simply reducing the sugar a little if making a savoury pie. 

Add the butter and press the pieces into flat pieces, rubbing into the flour just a little but keeping the butter in nice big flat flakes. Make a well in the middle of flour mixture and pour in the water. Toss the flour mixture and water together and then use your hands to briefly bring the dough together. Don’t take too long on this action as you don’t want to warm the butter, it needs to stay as cold as possible. 

At this stage if the butter is still feeling firm we carry on with the next step otherwise wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for 15 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface roll out the pastry into a long rectangle about 3-4mm thick (the exact dimensions of the rectangle don’t matter we just want to roll out the pastry and flatten out those pieces of butter). Roll up the rectangle into a big sausage, press flat and then cut into two pieces, wrapping each in clingfilm and refrigerating for at least an hour before using, but preferably overnight. 

For the custard place the milk and half of the sugar into small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile whisk together the cornstarch and remaining sugar. Add the egg and salt and whisk together until smooth and slightly lightened. Pour over the simmering milk, whisking as you pour to prevent curdling. Pour this custard back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the custard has thickened. Scrape the custard into a small bowl and stir in the butter and rum until smooth and combined. Press a sheet of clingfilm onto the surface of the custard and refrigerate until needed. 

Preheat the oven to 200C (180C Fan)

To assemble roll out one of the pieces of dough into a rectangle that is a little larger than 25cm x 30cm and cut out 8 rectangles 7.5 x 12.5 cm, placing the pieces of pastry onto a parchment lined baking tray. Place a couple teaspoons of mincemeat and the same of custard onto each rectangle. Roll out the second piece of pastry as before cutting into the same sized rectangles. Brush the border of each assembled hand pie with a little beaten egg and seal with a second rectangle of pastry, using a sharp knife to cut a couple of vent holes. Brush the hand pies with beaten egg and sprinkle with demerara or granulated sugar. Chill the assembled hand pies for 30 minutes. 

Bake the hand pies in the preheated oven for about 20 or until the pastry is golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. These are best either served at room temperature or served still warm.

Kept in sealed container these will keep happily for 2-3 days but of course will be best on the day they are baked. You can serve these as is or if you want a little extra decoration you can make a simple icing sugar glaze with milk and a little vanilla and pipe or drizzle it over the cooled pastries

Vegan Chocolate and Passion Fruit Tart

This post is sponsored by Gem Avocados

Making Vegan recipes is something I have been experimenting with a lot recently so when GEM® Avocados (exclusively available from Tesco) challenged me to use the fruit in a dessert I was totally game and got straight to baking. The first ever dessert I tried that included avocado was a chocolate mousse so I wanted to do a spin on that. The GEM Avocados are particularly buttery and creamy so I thought they would make for a silky smooth mousse and I was right, this ended up incredibly light, almost like a French Silk Chocolate Tart, very velvety. Vegan chocolate mousse is often made with Avocado, sweetener and cocoa powder and that makes more of a thick creamy mousse and I wanted to more accurately replicate the texture of the non-vegan version. To get that aerated texture I also folded through a little whipped aquafaba (the juice found in cans of beans, chickpeas being the most popular version) which replicates the traditional whipped eggs folded into a chocolate mousse.

For flavourings I went with a perennial favourite of mine, chocolate and passion fruit and paired those flavours with a speculoos crust, the warm toasty notes being a great match for the bright flavour of passion fruit and the rich flavour of chocolate. 

If you have never tried a dessert with Avocado before its worth trying, this is incredibly quick and easy to put together, the GEM Avocados are rich and buttery with a smoother texture than other varieties so it is a great choice for dessert.

Crust
250g speculoos biscuits
50g melted coconut oil
Large pinch fine sea salt

Chocolate Mousse Filling
100g dark chocolate, melted
4 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
5 tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/5 GEM Avocados (about 250g of avocado)
1 tin chickpeas
2 tbsp caster sugar

Passion Fruit Topping
4 passion fruit
2 tbsp caster sugar
50ml water
Toasted coconut and cocoa nibs, to serve

To make the crust place the biscuits into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Pour in the coconut oil and salt and pulse until evenly combined. Pour the biscuit mixture into a 9 inch, loose bottomed, tart tin and press into the sides and base of the tin, compacting well. Refrigerate until needed. Clean the food processor bowl.

For the chocolate mousse, melt the chocolate and set aside to cool. Cut the GEM Avocados ion half, remove the stone and scoop out the flesh (you should have about 250g) and add to the food processor with the maple syrup, vanilla, cocoa powder and chocolate and process until smooth and creamy, 2-3 minutes. Meanwhile drain half of the liquid from the tin of chickpeas into a large bowl and using an electric mixer whisk until the aquafaba holds soft peaks. Add in the sugar and whisk for a couple minutes or until dissolved. Add about a third of the meringue mixture to the chocolate mixture and beat to combine. Add the remaining meringue in two additions, folding as lightly as you can to preserve the light texture. Scoop the finished mousse into the tart base and spread into an even layer. Refrigerate for at least four hours before serving. 

For the passion fruit topping scoop the pulp from the passion fruit into a small saucepan and add the sugar and water. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until reduced and slightly syrupy. Refrigerate until needed. 

To serve, drizzle the syrup over the tart and top with a sprinkling of toasted coconut flakes and a few cocoa nibs. 

Mastering Flaky Pie Dough - Strawberry & Rhubarb Galettes

Lockdown has been interesting, for one I am cooking and baking more than ever and thats saying something. I bake for a living but right now I never seem to leave the kitchen and the sheer amount of washing up is making me go a little stir crazy. Thankfully I am not the only one baking, the internet is flooded with new homemakers and the recipes they are tackling. The swaths of sourdough bakers, the banana bread fanatics and just those who have never baked before. I, for one, am thrilled that more of you are in the kitchen and I hope this new baking obsession is a permanent addition to your routine. For those new bakers out there I wanted to post some recipes that help build up your skills and give you building blocks to give you confidence in the kitchen.

Everyone should have a good flaky pie dough in their arsenal of recipes, once you learn how to make pie you open up a world of recipes and whether you want to use it for sweet or savoury this is my go-to recipe. You’ll notice there is a little sugar in the dough and whilst you could remove it for savoury pies I’d suggest leaving it in. Not only does the sugar act as a type of seasoning, helping give the dough a great flavour, it also helps with browning. 

The biggest thing I can teach you when making a flaky pie dough, or most pastry recipes for that matter, is that temperature is the most important thing and that temperature is normally cold. Keeping the butter cold helps ensure a light and flaky pastry. Butter includes water and as the pastry bakes the water content will evaporate and if the butter is handled properly this evaporation will lead to super flaky pastry. So don’t be worried, if the pastry begins to stick, starts to warm up, don’t panic simply throw it back in the fridge until you can work with it again. 

Now that you’ve mastered pie dough what should you make? Of course you can jump straight to a classic pie, I think a galette is a great starting point. Galettes are meant to be rustic so perfection isn’t needed and when your learning how to work with dough galettes wont mind clumsy shaping or a little heavy handed crimping. These are individual pies that are chilled out and don’t have any cares. For the filling I found some end of season rhubarb and early season strawberries over at Borough Market, which I am lucky to have in my neighbourhood. This combo is one of my favourites and whilst it is delicious without much adornment I love to add a little vanilla plus depending on my mood a couple other additions. Cardamom goes brilliantly in this recipe but today I kept things simple and added a small amount fo almond extract. I don’t use the extract for a strong punch of flavour but a subtle layering of flavour that makes these extra special.

Flaky Pie Dough
Makes enough for 1 double crust pie or 8 individual galettes

300g plain flour
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp fine sea salt
250g unsalted butter, diced and chilled
6-8 tbsp ice cold water
2 tbsp vodka
1 large egg, for egg wash
demerara for decoration

Strawberry and Rhubarb Filling
350g strawberries
350g rhubarb
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)
125g caster sugar
1 1/2 tbsp cornflour
80g ground almonds

To make the pastry place the flour, sugar and salt into a large bowl and mix to combine. Add 1/4 of the butter and toss to coat. Using your fingertips, rub in the butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. This portion of the butter helps to make the finished pastry tender, the remaining butter will add the flakiness.

Add the remaining butter and toss in the flour mixture. Using your fingertips, press each piece of butter flat. Put the bowl into the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up, keeping the butter cold is key to making a super flaky pastry. If the butter becomes too warm it will get worked into the dough and you’ll make something with a more biscuity texture. Pour the vodka into a small jug with the ice cold water. Remove the bowl from the freezer and pour over the water mixture a couple tablespoon at a time, stirring with a butter knife. Your not looking to form a ball of dough, you want a mixture that is clumping together without any pockets of dry flour. You may need a little more or less water that is why it is important to add the liquid in stages. Tip the dough out onto the worksurface and use your hands to briefly bring together with your hands. Using your hands will warm the dough up a little so place onto a plate and chill in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.

On a lightly floured worksurface, roll the dough into a rectangle (roughly 15cm x 40cm) then roll it up into a fat sausage. Cut the dough into two pieces and form into flat discs, wrapping in clingfilm and chilling for about an hour before using. This rolling process is a way to build in extra layering, and is an idea based on Portuguese custard tart bakers in Lisbon and methods for flaky buttermilk biscuits in the American South.

For the pastry roll out one piece of pastry at a time, on a lightly floured worksurface, until about 3mm thick. To ensure you get as many discs of pastry from the dough as possible on the first roll I like to roll into a rectangle roughly 6 inches wide. Cut out three 6 inch round discs of pastry and place them onto a parchment lined baking tray and refrigerate until firm. Set the scraps aside for the moment. Repeat with the second piece of dough. Gather the scraps together and refrigerate for an hour before rolling out and cutting out the remaining 2 discs of pastry. 

For the filling cut the rhubarb into small slices, 1/2-1cm thick. Cut the stalk from the strawberries and cut into quarters. Place the fruit into a large bowl and stir in the sugar. Set the bowl aside to allow the fruit to macerate. After 30 mins pour the fruit and juice into a fine mesh strainer set over a saucepan. Once all the juice has drained into the pan set the fruit back in the bowl. Place the pan over medium/high heat and reduce by two thirds then turn off the heat. Place the cornflour into a small bowl and pour over a little of the fruit juice, whisking to combine to form a slurry. Pour this mixture back into the pan and stir to combine, if using add the vanilla bean paste and almond extract at this stage. Pour this mixture over the fruit and stir to combine. 

To assemble place a spoonful of ground almonds onto a disc of pastry and spread into a thin layer, leaving the outer inch clear. This almonds are not there to add lots of flavour but to absorb any excess juice and keep the pastry crisp. Top with some of the fruit mixture. Fold the pastry border up and over the fruit, crimping as you fold (watch the video for a really helpful view of how I do this). Place the galettes onto a parchment lined baking tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until the pastry is firm. 

Whilst the galettes are chilling preheat the oven to 220C (200C Fan). When ready to bake brush the pastry with a beaten egg and sprinkle liberally with demerara or sanding sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes before reducing the heat to 200C (180C Fan) and baking for a further 10-15 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking tray for a few minutes before serving warm and allow to cool fully before serving at room temperature. 

Once baked the galettes will be best served on the day made but will be great for a few days after but the pastry underneath will lose some of its crispness. 

Rye Flour Mincemeat Braid

This Post is Sponsored by Doves Farm Organic Flour

Christmas means mince pies and Christmas cake right? Whilst I love both of those recipes I also enjoy putting exciting twists ontraditional options by addinga little…something extra.

Puff pastry always sounds like a scary recipe, something we avoid, something to be bought and not made. Why would you make it when you can buy it? As much as I think shop-bought puff pastry is a valuable tool, in my opinion, it doesn’t always have the best flavour or texture. This homemade version is a rough puff, a cheat’s puff pastry, a quick version that is worth skipping the supermarket for. There are a couple of different ways of making rough puff and for today’s recipe I have gone with the easiest version. The resulting pastry puffs like traditional puff pastry but even if you screw it up a little you’ll end up with a flaky pastry which is equally good for this recipe, so don’t sweat it, I’ve got you. To make the pastry more than simply a vessel for the filling I am using a blend of Doves Farm Organic Wholemeal Rye Flour and Plain Flour. I would use 100% rye flour for other bakes but it doesn’t have the same amount of gluten as other flours, which can mean it’s trickier to use to make puff pastry. It also tends to absorb more water and can become brittle and trickier to roll out when used solely on its own. For this rough puff I found a 50/50 blend gave a nice texture and a vastly improved flavour compared to regular puff pastry made solely with plain white flour. The rye adds a real warmth and depth of flavour that works brilliantly in this recipe and pairs beautifully with the spices in the mincemeat.

Yes, it’s Christmas so I am still using mincemeat. This puff pastry braid is filled with a simple pastry cream and topped with mincemeat. Those of you that find mincemeat too sweet or rich - this is for you. The custard mellows out the flavour a little and gives a wonderful vanilla tone to the dish, but still keeps all those Christmas spices we love, just in a slightly more subtle way. Whilst I will make mince pies each and every year this braid may be my new favourite way of using mincemeat.

For the decoration of the puff pastry braid I kept it simple, using a liberal sprinkling of demerara sugar to add a little sparkle. If you want something more you could also add flaked almonds which would work brilliantly with the filling (you could also add a few drops of almond extract to the custard if you are an especially big almond fan). Whilst this is a dessert it reminds me a little of a Danish pastry, so I won’t stop you if you fancy serving this for breakfast over the Christmas period, just save me a slice if you do.

Doves Farm Organic Plain White Flour and Wholemeal Rye Flour is available at Ocado, Sainsburys, Tesco

Wholemeal Rye Flour Rough Puff Pastry
115g Doves Farm Organic Plain Flour
115g Doves Farm Organic Wholemeal Rye Flour
200g unsalted butter, diced and chilled
1/2 tsp salt
100-120ml ice cold water

Mincemeat and Custard Filling
250ml whole milk
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
100g caster sugar
25g cornflour
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
150g mincemeat

To make the pastry place the plain flour, rye flour and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a couple times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until broken up a little but there are still large chunks of butter showing. Tip the flour mixture into a large bowl and drizzle in the water a couple tablespoons at a time, stirring with a butter knife. When enough water has been added for the mixture to start clumping together use your hands to briefly bring together as a uniform dough. Press into a flat rectangle, wrap with clingfilm, and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

As this is a cheat’s puff pastry the lamination has no additional butter but this folding does help to increase the layering in the finished dough. On a lightly floured worksurface roll out into a rectangle that is roughly 15cm by 45cm. With the short side of the rectangle facing you fold the dough in thirds, like you are folding a business letter. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Repeat this rolling and folding twice more before refrigerating the dough a final 20 minutes (or overnight) before using.

To make the custard place the milk into a medium sized saucepan and bring just to a simmer. Meanwhile place the egg, yolks, sugar, cornflour and vanilla into a large bowl and whisk together until smooth and pale. When the milk is at temperature pour over the egg mixture, whilst whisking to prevent it from curdling the eggs. Pour this custard back into the pan and over medium/high heat whisk constantly until the custard has thickened and is bubbling. Scrape the finished custard into a clean bowl. Press a sheet of clingfilm onto the surface of the custard and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before using.

Preheat the oven to 190C (170C fan) and lime a baking tray with parchment paper.

To assemble roll out the pastry until just bigger than a 35cm x 30cm rectangle, trimming to size. Place the pastry in front of you, horizontally, so one of the longer sides is facing you. Use a knife to score the dough into thirds vertically (see step by step video for reference). With the two outer thirds make 1 inch wide cuts, on a slight diagonal to make strips, removing the corner strips.

Spread the custard filling over the central third of the pastry, leaving the top and bottom flaps of pastry clear. Dot the mincemeat on top of the custard. Fold the top and bottom flaps of pastry up and over the filling and then taking alternate strips, from side to side, braid the pastry strips over the filling. Brush the finished pastry with a beaten egg and sprinkle liberally with demerara sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes or until the pastry is a deep golden brown.

Remove and allow to cool fully before serving. Best served within a day or two.