Crème Brûlée Mince Pies

Two Currant (ouch) Obsessions Together in One Bake!

Makes 12 deep filled pies

INGREDIENTS:

Pastry:

You’ll need one portion of my gluten free sweet shortcrust (see previous recipe for details) or 450g of any readymade shortcrust - sweet or plain.

Gluten Free Shortcrust Pastry:

250g gluten free self raising flour

50g icing sugar

125g baking block

30g egg white ( 2 tbsp)

Mincemeat:

about 120g of whatever mincemeat you like.

Custard filling:

30g cornflour

25g sugar

2 tsp vanilla

100g water

300g cream - dairy or vegan

egg yolk - if you have one left from the pastry, and no other uses for it, just chuck it in.

HOW TO:

• Roll the pastry to 3mm and cut out 12 x10cm discs.

• Press them into the holes of a 12 cup muffin tin and add a stingy teaspoon of mincemeat to the base of each one.

• Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes at 175ºc.

• Leave the pastry cases to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before removing them and leaving them to cool completely.

• While they are cooling start the custard.  Add the cornflour, sugar and vanilla to a pan and add just enough of the100g of water to mix a lump free paste. If you’re using up the spare egg yolk, throw it in now and mix with the paste.  When it’s smooth add the rest of the water and the cream.

• Put the pan on a medium heat and keep stirring / whisking as it thickens to avoid lumps.

• Taste the custard when it’s thickened and if there is any chalkiness from the cornflour keep cooking gently until it’s gone.

• Pour the custard into the pastry cases and level the tops as best as you can. Leave them to cool to at least room temperature to set.

• Sprinkle each one with a teaspoon of sugar or Caramel Crumbs (the method for caramel crumbs is on my Substack) and blow torch to caramelise the top. You will have to blow torch rather than grill otherwise the top edge of the pastry will burn.

• Ideally these should be eaten within a couple of hours, before the caramel liquidises. But that’s no real hardship.

Tat x