Pecan mince pie
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Pecan mince pie

By Barney Desmazery

Take this beautiful mincemeat, nut-topped tart along to a festive buffet or serve with an indulgent brandy cream as an alternative to the traditional Christmas pud

  • Prep:30 mins
    Cook:55 mins
    plus chilling
  • Serves 12
  • More effort

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 666
  • fat 47g
  • saturates 18g
  • carbs 49g
  • sugars 34g
  • fibre 4g
  • protein 6g
  • salt 0.4g

Ingredients

  • 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 140g cold butter, diced
  • 2 tbsp golden caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp milk
  • zest 1 orange, finely grated
  • 300g pecans
  • 2 eggs
  • 100g golden syrup
  • 50g butter, melted
  • 400g homemade mincemeat (see goes well with for recipe), or a 411g shop-bought jar
  • 300ml double cream
  • 2 tbsp icing sugar
  • 4 tbsp brandy
  • splash of vanilla extract
  • large pinch of cinnamon

Tip

Time saver

You can use shop-bought sweet pastry to save time. Scatter over and roll in the grated orange zest, for added flavour.

Serving suggestions

This makes a wonderful buffet dessert as it will sit happily at room temperature, or you could serve it at the end of your Christmas meal. The brandy cream is optional but so worth it.

Method

  1. To make the pastry, put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it comes together, then tip onto a surface and knead into a ball. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 mins.

  2. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use to line a 23cm tart tin, leaving any excess pastry overhanging. Chill for a further 30 mins.

  3. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 with a baking sheet on the middle shelf. Prick the pastry base with a fork and line the tin with baking parchment and baking beans or some dry rice. Place on the baking sheet and bake for 20 mins until golden around the edges. Remove the parchment and beans, and return to the oven for 10 mins more until the base is biscuit-brown.

  4. While the pie case is baking, make the filling. Finely chop half the pecans by hand or by pulsing in a food processor, then tip into a bowl. Mix in the eggs, golden syrup and melted butter until completely combined, then stir in the mincemeat.

  5. When the pie case is cooked, spoon over the mincemeat pecan filling and top with the reserved whole pecans. Bake for 20-25 mins until the top is just set, then remove from the oven to cool slightly.

  6. To make the brandy cream, whisk together the cream and the icing sugar until holding soft peaks, then gently whisk in the brandy, vanilla and cinnamon. Serve the pie warm in slices with a dollop of the cream.

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