What is Christmas without a mince pie? Sweet and spiced, mince pies are an English tradition, typically served at Christmas. Traditionally, mince pies are made with suet, making them unsuitable for vegans and vegetarians. Our tried and true recipe can be enjoyed by everyone and makes the most delicious mince pies!
You will need...
FOR THE PASTRY
- 200g vegan butter (block style, frozen)
- 400g plain white flour
- 70g caster sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 50ml water (ice cold)
- 35ml plant milk
FOR THE FILLING
- 70g raisins
- 90g currants
- 35g chopped mixed peel
- 75g shredded vegetable suet
- 65g dark brown sugar
- ½ lemon (zest and juice)
- ½ orange (zest only)
- 35ml brandy
- pinch nutmeg
- 1 bramley apple (small, peeled and grated)
To make the mincemeat
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Start this process the day before you plan to bake.
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In a medium bowl, combine all the mincemeat ingredients (raisins, currants, chopped mixed peel, shredded vegetable suet, dark brown sugar, lemon, brandy, nutmeg, bramley apple)
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Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for 24 hours.
To make the pastry
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Place the vegan butter, flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times until the mixture resembles a coarse sand.
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Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and use a fork to stir in the ice cold water. Mix just until the crumbs start to clump together into larger lumps. Do not overmix.
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Turn the crumbly mixture out onto a counter and knead one or two times to create a ball of dough.
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Grease a non-stick cupcake tin with some vegan butter and preheat the oven to 180c.
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Use a spoon to add a walnut-sized ball of dough into each well (this should leave just under half of the dough left for creating the pie lids).
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Use your thumbs to push the dough down and up the sides of the tin
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Spoon the mincemeat into the pies, dividing evenly.
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To make the lids, dust the worktop with a little flour then take a ball of dough and press flat against the surface with the palm of your hand until it’s roughly the size of the top of the pie.
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Place the pie lid over a filled pie and roughly push the edges of the lid and the crust together. You can also add pastry decorations to the top of your pies. Brush the top with a little plant milk.
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Place the cupcake tin of filled and covered pies in the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove and allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes.
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Place the pies on a wire cooling rack until fully cooled.
- Enjoy!
Baked pies will keep for 3 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Mincemeat can be made 1 day ahead. Store refrigerated. Unbaked pies can be frozen for up to 1 month. Just make sure to thaw before baking.