I have been making frangipani mince pies for a few years now and I was thinking of different toppings for them. I was thinking of shortbread then decided piping the Viennese mixture in the top would give a different texture to the mince pie.
They are delicious tarts with a nice thin buttery pastry case which not only look great but taste great too!!!
You can buy the mincemeat or why not have a go at making my Christmas mincemeat this year.
Start by making the pastry. You can do this by hand or in a food processor. You need to rub the butter into the flour and sugar until you have fine breadcrumbs.
Then add the egg and combine using the pulse function (if using the food processor) so you do not overwork the dough. Keep pulsing until a ball of pastry starts to form. If making by hand mix in the egg and use your hands to form the dough.
The pastry then needs to be wrapped and placed in the fridge to keep cool for at least 30 minutes.
To make the filling put the butter and icing sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until light and fluffy.
Add the flour, cornflour and vanilla extract then beat until it is all combined.
The mixture needs to be able to be piped so must not be too thick. If it is too thick put some boiled water in a bowl bigger than the one of your stand mixer and place the bowl of mixture in the hot water and beat until it is thin enough to pipe. This will melt the butter slightly and makes it so much easier to pipe properly.
Cut out 12 circles of pastry to fit in a deep muffin tin.
Then put a heaped teaspoon of mincemeat in each one.
Finally pipe with a Wilton 1M star nozzle on top of the mincemeat until the mincemeat is covered.
Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour until the topping is hard. If you don’t do this you will loose the definition of the swirl.
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees centigrade (170 fan).
Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Leave them to cool completely in the muffin tin before removing them with a small spatula.
Viennese Mince Pies
Sarah's servings: 12
Sarah's skill: Medium
Baking time: 25 minutes
INGREDIENTS
PASTRY
200g Plain Flour
45g Icing Sugar
100g Cold Cubed Unsalted Butter
1 Large Egg
FILLING
200g unsalted butter, softened
50g icing sugar, sieved
175g plain flour
45g cornflour
1 tsp vanilla extract
12 tsp mincemeat
METHOD
Pastry Put the flour, sugar and butter into a food processor and pulse until you have fine breadcrumbs. Alternatively rub the butter into the flour and sugar by hand until you have fine breadcrumbs.
Add the egg and combine in the food processor or by hand until the pastry forms a ball.
Wrap in cling film or similar and transfer to fridge to keep cool for at least 30 minutes.
Filling Put the butter and icing sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until light and fluffy.
Add the plain flour, cornflour and vanilla extract, then beat until it is all combined.
The mixture needs to be able to be piped so must not be too thick. If it is too thick put some boiled water in a bowl bigger than the one of your stand mixer and place the bowl of mixture in the hot water and beat until it is thin enough to pipe. This will melt the butter slightly and makes it so much easier to pipe properly.
Place the mixture in an icing bag fitted with a 1M star nozzle.
Cut out 12 circles of pastry to fit in a deep muffin tin and put a heaped teaspoon of mincemeat in each pastry case.
Pipe the Viennese mixture in a circular motion starting in the middle and working your way to the outside edge until the mincemeat is fully covered.
Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour until the topping is hard. If you don’t do this you will loose the definition of the swirl - it should be firm to the touch.
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees centigrade (170 fan).
Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown.
Leave them to cool completely in the muffin tin before removing them with a small spatula.
Equipment Used
SARAH’S EXTRA SLICE
Makes 12 mince pies.
I do not blind bake my tart cases as the pastry always bakes well without needing to.
You could add nuts or dried cranberries to the mincemeat if you like for a bit of different texture.
You will probably have some pastry left over and this can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days or frozen for use at a later time.
I used a 1M piping nozzle.