This is a new page, where we share our ideas and recipes as we slowly move into supplying the ingredients for you to bake yourself.
How to …… make mince pies
Mince pies consist of pastry, brambly apples and mince meat. We make our own mince meat using our own handmade peel of organic lemons. So, if you – like me – don’t really like peel, this is the game changer. Well made peel from organic lemons is unlike anything you ever ate as peel.
You will need a rolling pin, a large scone cutter, a star cutter and a pie tray. 12 silicon pie cases will also do.
Pastry
500g organic spelt flour – 220g Irish butter – 200g caster sugar – 2 free range eggs. Don’t compromise on ingredients, ever! There is no point in all your work if you don’t use top ingredients. Add the sugar to the flour and work in your butter with your fingers. It helps if you take the butter out of the fridge the night before. Don’t worry what you might have heard about pastry being difficult to make and that the butter needs to be ice cold. You also do not need to work on super cold surfaces or introduce marble tops into your kitchen. Nice pliable butter worked into the flour will work. Once the butter is down to crumb texture, work in your eggs and work into a nice pastry. Cool in the fridge for about an hour.
To assemble: roll out your pastry and cut out the bases with the large scone cutter and cut as many stars as you have bases. Fit the bases into your pie cases. Peel, core and dice your apples and fill each case to about half with apple pieces. Top with about 40g of mince meat. You can use a spoon, an ice cream scoop or wet hands to roll a nice ball. Mince meat is sticky !!! Top this off with a star, egg wash the star and bake at 180 degrees for about 15 min. Times and temperature vary so please try in your own oven. When the pastry is nice and golden and the mince meat is bubbling, your pie is finished.
Take the pie out and cool it – remember there is nothing as hot as boiling sugar – so beware a hot pie!!
Enjoy and let us know how you got on. Any questions, give me a text: Josephine at 086 8958538