If you fancy upping your homemade mince pie game, these ones are quite literally fit for a Queen.
Unsurprisingly, Buckingham Palace has some best pastry chefs from around the world employed with them and the late Queen Elizabeth II was a massive fan of their mince pies at Christmas time.
Fortunately, we can now recreate the royal mince recipe for ourselves at home this Christmas as one of the pastry chefs has shared the now not-so-secret recipe used to make the royals’ the festive treat.
However, we might be a little late to the party for Christmas 2022 as the Royal Family’s mincemeat for the pies is normally made months in advance of the big day and is stored in the pantry.
“Pastry is not something that likes to be rushed,” says Buckingham Palace’s Chef de Partie, Victoria Scupham. She also recommends ‘having cold hands’ when working with pastry, which helps keep it at the right consistency.
Here’s how to make them for yourself.
Festive Mince Pies
Ingredients:
For the Mincemeat:
zest and some juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
zest and some juice of 1 unwaxed orange
2 tablespoons brandy
1 tablespoon of port
1 tablespoon of rum
1 tablespoon of sherry
120g (1 cup) suet
160g (3/4 cup) golden sultanas
100g (1/2 cup) raisins
100g (1/2 cup) mixed peel
100g (1/2 cup) currants
1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1.2 teaspoon ground cloves
160 (6oz) russet apples, peeled and grated
500g (1lb 2 oz) sweet pastry
Egg washed for sticking lids on the bases
Granulated sugar for the top of the mince pies before baking
Icing sugar for dusting
Equipment:
12 hole non-stick shallow baking tray /
mince pie tin 32 x 24 cm/ 12.5 x 9″
fluted or plain cutters
Method:
- Place all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir. Then add all the liquid and grated apple and allow to soak for at least one week in a 1kg kilner jar sat in the fridge or pantry.
- Preheat the oven to 190° C (375° F, gas mark 5)
- Roll the sweet pastry into a sheet approximately 2 to 3 mm thick, place on a tray, and allow to rest in the fridge. Once rested, cut tops and bottoms for your mince pies using fluted or plain cutters (selecting sizes to fit your tin). Place the pie bases into the tin and prick them with a small knife or fork to prevent the pastry from rising during the baking.
- Spoon a teaspoon of the home-made mincemeat into the base and egg wash the edge of the pastry to enable the lids to stick. Place the mince pies in the fridge to rest for another 30 minutes, then add a pastry top to each, egg washing it and pricking a small hole in the top to allow the steam to escape. Sprinkle with granulated sugar.
- Place the baking tray on the middle shelf of the preheated oven and bake the pies for about 15 minutes, or until the pastry turns golden and the mincemeat starts to boil slightly. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before taking the pies out of their tin.
- Sprinkle the mince pies with icing sugar and serve immediately. To add a festive feel, the mince pie tops could be shaped with a star cutter or perhaps a holly-shaped cutter.