Mince Pies
Ingredients
120g Plain Gluten free flour (Our preference is Doves Farm)
100g Ground Almonds
90g Chilled plant-based alternative butter (not margarine)
90g Date Sugar
1tsp Vanilla Extract
2 tbs Milled golden linseed mixed with 3 tbs water
2 tbs Tapioca flour
Zest of 2 oranges & 1 lemon
2 tsp Mixed spice
1 tsp of Cinnamon
1/4 tsp of salt
Plant-based, gluten free, mincemeat approx 400g
Glaze for pastry 1 tbsp of date syrup and 2 tsp’s of orange juice
Method
Preheat the oven 150°c/300°F/Gas Mark 2.
In a small bowl add the milled linseed and water, mix and set aside.
In a large bowl, sift plain gluten free flour, tapioca flour and add mixed spice, cinnamon, ground almonds and salt.
Dice the the chilled fat and add to the bowl, rub in gently with your fingertips until the mixture starts to resemble a crumb consistency and you can’t blend anymore fat in to the dry ingredients. Next, add the date sugar and gently rub in again until the last of the butter is blended. The mixture will feel damp and should still resemble crumbs.
Add the zest of one orange and one lemon to the mixture and gently mix through.
Add the vanilla extract to the linseed paste and using a spoon add to the pastry mixture, stirring gently,then bring the pastry together with your hands. Be careful not to over work.
The pastry is delicate to work with, so it’s best to roll out half of the dough at a time. Divide the pastry in half, keeping one half back in the bowl and cover with damp kitchen paper to prevent it from drying out. Place the other half of the pastry onto well floured silicone/baking paper.
Flour the rolling pin and roll out the pastry once, then rotate the paper 90 degrees, roll the pastry again.Use a palate knife to loosen the pastry from the paper and add more flour underneath if needed. Repeat rolling and rotating until the pastry is approx 3mm thick.
Using a round cutter, cut out 12 bases (you will need all of the dough) and place them into a lightly greased muffin tray. As you add each circle of pastry, use your fingers to push the edges of the pastry inwards and downwards, don’t be tempted to press the pastry down in the centre as it will crack/tear. If it does, it can be easily patched together again.With a fork prick the bottom of each pastry case.
Put the pastry cases in the oven, lower-middle shelf for approx 20-25 minutes until the pastry cases are cooked.
Use the remaining pastry to cut out 12 stars and set aside
Add the zest of one orange to the mincemeat.
When the pastry cases come out of the oven, add the mincemeat (approx 2 large heaped teaspoons) to each case, add a pastry star on top and place back in the oven, same shelf for 15 minutes until the pastry stars are cooked.
Remove from the oven and leave pies in the tray to cool down for at least 20 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Mix the date syrup and orange juice together to make the glaze, brush each pastry star.
The mince pies are best eaten the same day but can be kept for 24 hours in an airtight tin.
