The King’s Ginger mince pies
Head Chef Stewart Turner shares his favourite recipe for mince pies – especially delicious when infused with The King’s Ginger.
This is the recipe that I use when preparing mince pies for our events. We also serve these in our London Shop throughout December. In a nutshell, it’s a mince pie with a crumble topping. If you don’t want to make the crumble, just top with another disc of sweet pastry.
The recipe
Mincemeat
225g Bramley apples, peeled and grated
115g suet
115g candied peel, chopped
115g sultanas
175g raisins
115g currants
175g light soft brown sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp mixed spice
½ tsp ground nutmeg
25g flaked almonds
1 orange, zest and juice
1 lemon, zest and juice
50ml The King’s Ginger liqueur
Preheat the oven to 120°C. Combine all the ingredients, except The King’s Ginger, in a large casserole pan, cover with a lid and cook in the oven for around three hours, stirring occasionally.
Remove the mixture from the oven and give it a good stir. Allow to cool and stir in The King’s Ginger. The mix can either be kept in the fridge or stored in sterilised jars.
Sweet pastry
175g plain flour
75g cold butter, cubed
25g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
1 large orange, grated zest only
1 free range egg, beaten
Lightly butter a 12-hole muffin tin. Place the flour, sugar, zest and butter in a food processor and process briefly, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, then slowly add the egg. Bring the mixture together with your hands, wrap in clingfilm and chill for an hour or so.
Thinly roll out the pastry on a floured surface. Cut out 12 circles with a fluted pastry cutter, large enough to fill the base of the prepared tin. Press gently into each hole, then fill with the mincemeat.
Chill the pies for about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Top the pies with the crumble mix and bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack and serve warm, dusted with icing sugar.
Crumble topping (optional)
80g plain flour
80g ground almonds
80g demerara sugar
80g caster sugar
80g butter
Pinch of salt
Place all the dry ingredients in a stand mixer or food processor, then add the butter and mix to a crumbly dough. Keep the mixture in the fridge, and simply crumble over the mince pies when ready to use.