Recipe: Benoit Blin’s Festive Mince Pies

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The day before, begin making the mincemeat filling. In a large bowl, combine the vegetable suet, dried mixed fruit, dark brown sugar, mixed spice, nutmeg, orange, lemon and apple. Cover with clingfilm and leave to rest overnight in the fridge.

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The next day, preheat the oven to 275°F / 140°C / Gas Mark 1. Cook the mincemeat mixture in a small baking tray covered with foil for around 1 hour 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

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Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely. Continue to stir every now and then, to ensure the fat remains throughout the mixture and avoids any setting on the top.

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Once the mixture is cool, add the brandy and place the mixture in the fridge, covered, until needed.

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Next, make the pastry. In a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment, combine the icing sugar, caster sugar and diced cold butter on slow speed. This can also be done by hand.

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Add the vanilla extract, salt and egg yolk until incorporated.

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Add the ground almond, cornflour and plain flour, and combine for a couple of minutes until the dough comes together and looks smooth.

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Cover and place the dough in the fridge for at least for a couple of hours to rest.

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It’s time to assemble the pies. Preheat the oven to 338°F / 170°C / Gas Mark 3. Lightly grease your 6.5cm x 3cm non-stick tartelette moulds (or any similar muffin tray).

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Roll the cold sable pastry on a well-floured table until about 2-3 mm thick. Cut 24 discs, about 8cm across, to line the bases of the tartelette moulds. Then cut a further 24 discs, around 6.5 cm across – these are your pastry lids.

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Spoon or pipe roughly 20g of cold mincemeat in each tartelette’s pastry base, then place a sable pastry lid on top.

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Bake the pies for about 12 to 15 minutes or until nice and golden.

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As soon as they are out of the oven, generously cover the pies with brown granulated sugar. Allow them to cool down slightly before removing them from their moulds – it can help to tap them gently on the side or carefully use a small paring knife.