Sweet Mince Pies

Learning about food is an ongoing process. One of the things on my long list of Christmas treats I had to make for the big day was this sweet mince pies. It was not a complicated recipe.All I needed was batter and mincemeat filling. I thought I had everything ready. I piped halfway through when my boss came to check on me. The minced meat I put on the batter caught her attention. I knew something was not right when she gave me a puzzled look. Then she asked what was the thing I put on top. Minced beef. I exclaimed! Her eyes widened! That's when she explained what mincemeat was. Ha! I felt  dumb. My ignorance cost me a good deal of time. I had no choice but to remove the rounded minced beef and replaced it with candied peel. Imagine how guests would react if they tasted beef in their sweet mince pies! It would be a disaster.


Recipe: Yields 12 little mince pies

175 g self-raising flour

100 g light muscovado sugar

1 tsp mixed spice or pumpkin spice

175 g softened butter

3 eggs

2 tbsp milk

about 140 g mincemeat ( I used candied peel)

icing sugar for dusting

Heat oven to 190C/gas 5. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners. Place the flour, sugar, butter, spice, eggs and milk into a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer or wooden spoon for 2-3 minutes, until batter is light and fluffy.

Pipe a small amount of cake mix in each case.

Put a rounded teaspoon of mincemeat. Cover the mincemeat with batter and smooth.

Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden brown and firm. Dust with icing sugar. You can serve it warm or cold but I prefer it warm.