CHRISTMAS FRUIT MINCE PIES

These glorious fruit pies with their buttery crust are perfect for the festive season and beyond. We use the very buttery sablée pastry, which melts in your mouth, for these little tarts, which we share once again from our first book.

Dried fruit and alcohol play a big part in sweet Christmas recipes, and this one is no exception. You will need to soak the dried fruit in the brandy and cider for at least a week before getting started on these.

These aren’t the type of fruit mince tart that can sit in your cupboard or fridge for weeks leading up to Christmas. After baking they have a refrigerated shelf life of about 5 days, or they can be frozen for up to 3 weeks; to refresh them, bake the frozen tarts in a 150°C (300°F) oven for 12 minutes.

For best results, bake and eat as soon as the tarts are cool.

Makes 20 pies, 6.5 cm (2½ inches) in size

75 g (2¾ oz/ ½ cup) currants

75 g (2¾ oz) raisins

30 g (1 oz) mixed peel (mixed candied citrus peel)

2 tablespoons brandy

80 ml (2½ fl oz/ ¹/₃ cup) apple cider

50 g (1¾ oz) unsalted butter

75 g (2¾ oz) soft brown sugar

¼ teaspoon mixed (pumpkin pie) spice

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

300 g (10½ oz) apples, cored, peeled and cut into 5 mm (¼ inch) cubes

25 g (1 oz) blanched almonds, roughly chopped

finely grated zest of ½ lemon, plus the juice of ½ lemon

1 quantity Sweet pastry

1 quantity Egg wash

caster (superfine) sugar, for sprinkling

Put the currants, raisins and mixed peel in a bowl and pour the brandy and cider over, mixing well to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for at least 1 week.

Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat and add the brown sugar, mixed spice and cinnamon, stirring well. Add the apple and cook for 2–3 minutes, or until softened but still holding its shape.

Fold the mixture into the macerated fruit. Add the almonds, lemon zest and lemon juice, mixing well to combine.

Brush twenty 6.5 cm (2½ inch) individual tart tins with a little butter. Roll the pastry out thinly and cut out 20 bases to line the tins. Re-roll the pastry as needed to cut out 20 lids. Rest the pastry cases and lids in the fridge for at least 20 minutes; these ones do not need to be blind-baked.

Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F).

Place about 2½ teaspoons of the fruit mixture into each pastry shell. To attach the lids, brush the rim of the pastry base and the lid with a little egg wash and lay the lid over the base. Gently squeeze the top and bottom pastry edges together to make a good seal. Make a small hole in the middle to allow steam to escape, then brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle with caster sugar.

Bake the pies for 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and the base is cooked.

Leave to cool slightly, then eat straightaway.