Christmas Mince Tarts

Ingredients for Tart filling

  • 360g (2 cups) dried mixed fruit
  • 200g (1 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
  • 50g (1/3 cup) slivered almonds, finely chopped
  • 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, quartered, cored, coarsely grated
  • 40g butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons brandy
  • 3 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon mixed spice
  • Pinch of ground nutmeg
  • 1 egg, lightly whisked
  • White sugar, to dust

Ingredients for pastry

  • 80g Gluten Free Pastry Flour
  • (PLUS 1-2 Tbsp. extra flour)
  • 35g Nutelex (cut into small chunks and kept in freezer)
  • 40mls iced water
  • 5mls white vinegar
  • 1 egg whisked, for brushing (if desired)

Method for Pastry

  1. Measure flour and add to a good bowl. Add butter chunks one by one from freezer and rub into flour with fingertips until all butter is rubbed in. If you want a lighter and flakier pastry, leave some butter in smaller chunks.
  2. Add the iced water and vinegar to the mixture and mix in. If mixture is still wet, add 1 tbsp. of flour at a time until mixture comes together.
  3. Wrap pastry in Clingfilm (Gladwrap) and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
  4. Roll pastry out between 2 sheets of baking paper until it is about 2-3mm thick. If you are blind baking, prick pastry before going into oven. Bake at 200c.
Makes: 1 sheets

Tips for Pastry

  • Try and keep everything cold for this pastry.
  • Measure and cut the Nutelex into small chunks, keep in freezer and use bit by bit.
  • Add a few ice cubes to the iced water so that it is very cold.
  • Brush the top of your pastry with a little whisked egg prior to baking to add a golden colour.

Method for filling

  1. Finely chop half the mixed fruit. Place in a large bowl. Add the brown sugar, almond, apple, butter, brandy, lemon rind, lemon juice, cinnamon, mixed spice, nutmeg and the remaining mixed fruit. Stir until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside overnight, stirring occasionally, to macerate.
  2. Transfer the fruit mixture to a fine sieve over a bowl and stir to remove excess liquid.
  3. Preheat oven to 180C. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface until 5mm thick. Use an 8.5cm-diameter round pastry cutter to cut 20 discs from the pastry. Use a 5cm-diameter star-shaped pastry cutter to cut 20 stars from the remaining pastry.
  4. Line twenty 80ml (1/3-cup) capacity muffin pans with pastry discs (see tip 2). Divide the fruit mince among the pastry cases. Top with pastry stars. Brush the stars lightly with the egg and sprinkle with white sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until light golden. Set aside in the pans for 5 minutes to cool before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.