Raspberry Meringue Pie with Lime & Pistachio Pastry

Growing up my mums lemon meringue pie was one of my favourite Sunday treats. I’ve not eaten one for several years, so when I recently saw a recipe for raspberry meringue pie I had feelings of both nostalgia and excitement over childhood favourite with a new twist. I’d heard of lime or orange meringue pie, even a chocolate meringue pie, but never a raspberry meringue pie. It looked too delicious to pass up.

This pie is extra special as not only is it filled with a zingy raspberry curd, but it’s also spiked with lime for an extra fresh kick. The pastry contains lime, pistachios and brown sugar for a really unique and delicious meringue pie pastry twist. It smelt unimaginably amazing when it was baking.

Instead of raspberries, you could try using other fruits, blackcurrants, cherries or mixed forest fruits, but I think raspberries are the fruit of choice for a truly spectacular magenta coloured curd filling. The contrast of the vibrant raspberry against the puffy pale meringue topping is stunning. It gives much more of a wow factor than a lemon meringue pie.

This pie tastes delicious eaten when still warm from the oven, which is how we served it initially, but I wouldn’t recommend this if you are going for dainty elegant presentation. When hot, the curd is melted, oozy and gooey, meaning it pools out of the tart when cut. Not exactly photo worthy. However, leave it to cool, or even better, chill for a few hours in the fridge and you get a perfectly behaved and sliceable pie, with all the layers staying distinct. I think this gives a much better impression, see below.

Warm and oozy

Chilled and elegant

Leaving the pie to chill also allows the flavours to develop. The lime and raspberry mingle together well and the subtle nuttiness of the pistachio pastry is more noticeable. I also love the texture when it’s been chilled. The meringue maintains the crisp top sugary shell with airy mallowy meringue below which just dissolves on your tongue. By contrast the curd is thick, smooth and softly set and the base crisp and nicely crumbly. A wonderful mix of textures and flavours.

The raspberry filling is quite tangy, the freshness from the raspberry really being the star of the show. This is emphasised by the subtle zing of lime in the filling and pastry. This was delicious against the sweetness of the meringue top, and really kept the fresh raspberry flavour (despite using frozen berries!)

If you are looking for a real show stopper of a dessert I couldn’t recommend this pie enough. My sister and I made this for our mum for Mothers Day last weekend, and it was the perfect pretty-in-pink dessert. I love how you can use frozen berries in winter and fresh berries in summer. It would rival any summer pudding at a BBQ and would make a great non-chocolaty Easter dessert.

The recipe below makes enough filling and meringue for one deep 8inch tart, but you will have some pastry leftover – this tastes delicious cut into rounds and baked as mini biscuits to serve with a mousse or just to munch on. The pistachio and lime making them much more flavoursome than regular pastry. It’s quite time consuming to make, but definitely worth the effort.

Raspberry Meringue Pie with Lime & Pistachio Pastry

(Slightly altered from Gluten Free Alchemist blog)

Lime Pistachio Pastry 

40g pistachio nuts

80g rice flour

60g cornflour

50g buckwheat flour

1 tsp xanthan gum

¼ tsp salt

Zest of 1 lime (save the juice for the filling)

50g light soft brown sugar

110g cold butter

1 egg

1 tbsp cold water

Method

Have to hand a deep 8inch/20cm tart tin with a loose base and set to one side.

Grind the pistachio nuts so they resemble fine crumbs, then mix in a large bowl along with the flours, xanthan gum, salt, lime zest and sugar.

Chop the butter into small cubes and rub into the flour mix using the tips of your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Lightly beat the egg with the water and then add to the dry ingredients. Mix with a flat butter knife until it begins to come together as a dough. It may look a little dry at first, but don’t add any more water just yet.

When large clumps begin to form, switch to your hands and bring the mixture together to form a dough, kneading gently. Add a few drops more water if it’s too crumbly.

Lay a large sheet of clingfilm over the work surface and place the pastry on top. Cover with another large sheet of clingfilm before rolling out the dough until 2-3mm thick. Lift up and reposition the top layer of clingfilm to help you as you roll.

Remove the top layer of clingfilm and lift the pastry up with the base layer of clingfilm still in place to support it. Flip the pastry into the tart tin and press into the edges before peeling away the clingfilm. Trim the edges with a sharp knife and place into the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Wrap any leftover pastry in clingfilm and store in the fridge for use later (delicious baked as mini biscuits).

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C.

Dock the base of the pastry with a fork and line with baking paper or clingfilm and fill with baking beans. 

Blind bake the pastry for 10-12 minutes before removing the beans and baking for a further 5-10 minutes until the pastry is lightly golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Switch off the oven.

Raspberry Filling

350g fresh or frozen raspberries

Juice of 1 lime

40g caster sugar

20g cornflour

2 egg yolks (save the whites for the meringue)

25g butter

Method

Thaw the raspberries if frozen, then puree with the lime juice in a liquidizer. Pour into a sieve set over a bowl and press with the back of a spoon to sieve out the seeds. (This takes a while). Discard the seeds. 

Combine the raspberry puree with the sugar in a saucepan.

Mix the cornflour with a little water in a small bowl to make a paste and then stir this into the raspberry mix.

Heat gently, stirring continually until the mixture comes to a simmer. Continue to stir over a low heat for 1-3 minutes until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove from the heat and cool for 5 minutes. 

Whisk in the egg yolks one at a time, before cubing and whisking in the butter.

Spoon the filling into the pastry case and smooth the surface. Chill for at least 30 minutes to allow the filling to set.

Meringue Topping

2 egg whites                

100g caster sugar

Method

When the raspberry curd is chilled, preheat the oven to 180C and place a flat baking tray in the oven to heat up.

In a large clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks.

Gradually add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking constantly until the meringue forms stiff glossy peaks. 

Spoon mounds of meringue over the chilled raspberry tart filling making sure it reaches the edges of the pastry to seal it.

Carefully remove the hot baking tray from the oven and place the tart onto it. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes in the middle of the oven until the meringue surface is lightly golden and crisp, underneath should still be soft and mallowy. The curd will be melted and gooey when hot, so don’t use this as a baking indicator of doneness.

Allow to cool for 20 minutes before carefully removing from the tin.

Best served chilled for ease of slicing, although also tastes delicious warm – the filling will ooze out if eaten warm.

Makes 1 x 8inch tart

Whirlwind 22 Hours in Paris Sans Gluten

A couple of weeks ago I spent an amazing 22 hours in Paris. Over the past year I have heard news that gluten free has worked its way to Paris. Not just your bog-standard chocolate brownie and long life loaf of bread either. I’m taking about a completely dedicated gluten free patisserie, gluten free bakery and an entirely gluten free restaurant! This meant gluten free cakes, pastries and desserts – what more of an incentive did I need to book my ticket to Paris!

I went with my friend E who is also coeliac. This was perfect as it meant two highly excited gluten free girls in search of as many gluten free goodies as we could lay our hands on. Due to time constraints we were only able to stay in Paris for one night, which meant getting a 6am train from Sheffield to London and then catching the Eurostar from London to Paris. We arrived at 2:30pm one day and left at 12:30pm the following day. 22 hours to see and eat as much as possible – we were up for the challenge!

Not wanting to miss a second of our time, we strode off the Eurostar in Paris and headed straight to our first destination, a gluten free patisserie called Helmut Newcake. It took us a while to find as it’s a tiny place and we only had vague directions. Plus as didn’t want to waste time going to the hotel first we were on the hunt laden down with handbags, cameras, coats and suitcases too. We got a few odd looks, but we took not notice. Move out the way we were girls on a mission.

All I can say is that it was worth the hunt. We were greeted by a display case filled with the most AMAZING looking delicate tarts, choux buns and cakes, and all gluten free!! We were greeted by a very handsome French man who enquired if we wanted something savoury to start, some soup or salad maybe? “Non merci. Nous sommes ici pour les pâtisseries” He nodded and led us to a table with a smile. We spent about 5 minutes just gazing at the range of patisserie. We couldn’t decide what to have and ended up getting 3 to share in order to get a good range of pastry types and bakes. A passion fruit tart, a slice of Opera cake and a Paris-Brest.

The passion fruit tart was almost a thick shortbread case with a layer of hazelnut frangipan and a passion fruit curd on top. The shortbread was very crumbly and I felt it was a little too thick a crust but the hazelnut flavour was lovely and I loved the passion fruit curd on top, really zingy.

The Paris-Brest is a French classic. It’s a ring of piped mini choux buns filled with a smooth nutty crème patisserie. It was divine! The crème filling was so good! The choux pastry was a little firm – but it had been kept chilled due to the filling, so this was expected. Ah, so so good.

Finally there was the Opera cake, which was thin layers of moist almond sponge sandwiched with alternating chocolate and coffee ganache and topped with a layer of crisp chocolate. WOW! This was so rich and indulgent. You could really taste the quality. I’m glad we shared it, it was so rich but so good. Nice dark bitter flavours. I expect too dark for some people but I loved it.

Sugar high and pastry filled we headed to our hotel for a rest before heading out to dinner. E wanted a nap but I decided to head out and explore the area. I spotted a green square on the map called Square Montholon, wrote down directions and set off. I got a bit lost (naturally) but found it quite easily. It was a park with a few trees and a nice statue in the middle. I then took the scenic route back to the hotel. There are so many interconnecting streets and walkways – they all look the same!

After a quick shower and change we were ready for dinner at Noglu, which is an entirely gluten free restaurant.The restaurant was hidden along a very busy main road down an alleyway that was more of an arcade, all lined with restaurants and cafes with a glass roof, which gave it an almost exciting seceret location. It was a tiny place, with kitchen downstairs and around 5 tables upstairs – thankfully we had booked weeks ago.

The menu is small with only 3 starters, 4 mains and 3 desserts to choose from, but all meant to be fresh, seasonal good quality food. While we looked at the menu we had complimentary gougers to start (cheesy choux buns) in place of the usual bread or breadsticks you often get in restaurants. These were nice. A crisp outside with a mild but flavoursome cheesy flavour.

We decided to go with just mains and desserts. I had a mixed salad selection whicb included smoked purple potato salad, beetroot marinated veg, mixed leaves, herb oil and some very fancy peeled purple and yellow carrots. It was delicious and beautifully presented. Very smoky and woodsy but not overpowering. E had lasagna which had chunks of potato instead of pasta – clever but she was a bit underwhelmed.

For dessert E chose a strawberry & plum crumble and I had a Sable with cream & fruit. I asked if they had any gateaux as I’d heard they also ran a bakery, but it turned out their bakery is only open during the day and they said they only had the dessert options on the menu. I was a bit disappointed but throught the sable sounded nice. However it was terrible. Dry and biscuity with a mountain of kiwi on top (the only fruit apart from half a raspberry) I’m actually allergic to kiwi so this wasn’t a good choice. We both had a taste but it was so dry – like eating wood shavings – that we left it and shared the crumble which was much better.

The crumble was very sweet but the fruit was chunky and full of flavour. It was a massive portion so perfect for sharing. It wasn’t really a crumble as it had an almondy pastry/cakey top layer. Nice though. Noglu was quite expensive and due to a couple of disappointing dishes we weren’t sure it was worth the money. Maybe we were just unlucky.

The following morning we headed out for breakfast at a gluten free boulangerie called Chambelland Boulangerie. It was quite a trek from our hotel and again located down a winding back alleyway, but what a wonderful place. It didn’t open until 9am which for us is quite late for breakfast but by 9:40am we were seated outside the bakery on an unusually warm sunny morning enjoying some treats. It was a lovely little café with a few tables.

The breads and pastries are all beautifully presented and laid out in rows, with the menu displayed on a large blackboard behind. They has huge paving stone sized slabs of bread which they cut chunks off, then a range of tarts and cookies. Everything looked stunning and very artisan.

We went for the breakfast special which included bread, jam, hot drink and complimentary fresh juice of the day. There was a choice of plain or seeded bread, which came in long thick batons, almost like giant thick breadsticks. You couldn’t have made a sandwich or filled them in any way, but they were great for slathering in jam. We selected one of each so we could share. These came accompanied by strawberry and apricot jam. The bread had quite a soft sticky bubbly inside texture, almost like a crumpet, but the crust was very thick and crispy. It had a fantastic chew to the crust, not something you usually see in gluten free, but so delicious. The jams were good too, sweet, but you could really taste the fruit. We had tea (mint for me) and E had coffee along with the complimentary fresh juice of the day which today was a mix of orange, mango and peach. It had a great flavour and they served it in mason jam jars which was fun.

After the bread it was pastry/dessert time again. I know it was still only breakfast time but we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to try some of the stunning selection. We couldn’t have taken them with us on the train very easily. The other French patrons sitting nearby were all happily tucking into sugared pastries and brownies so we didn’t feel out of place. We shared a lemon tart and a chocolate ganache tart. Both fantastic quality and again packed with flavour

The lemon tart was piled high with a mound of torched meringue. The pastry was thin and crisp with a lovely thick tangy lemon filling. The meringue had the merest hint of crisp outer curst and then pillowy light meringue underneath. It just dissolved on the tongue. The chocolate ganache tart again had a good crisp crust and then almost a set chocolate custard filling with a layer of glossy ganache on top. It had a good intense chocolate flavour. The French really know their chocolate.

We left feeling a little sick and sugar high but oh so worth it. We bought a slab of focaccia bread, a peach muffin and a chestnut muffin to share for lunch on the train.

The focaccia was nice but a bit disappointing. It was incredibly oily and the middle bit of my half was doughy and raw. I couldn’t stomach any more sugar at that point but when we arrived in London we split the muffins. The peach one was quite crumbly but nice enough. The peach slices were almost semi dried as they were very firm and sugary rather than soft and juicy as expected. The muffin itself was studded with fresh mint which was a nice surprisingly flavour and quite strong. The chestnut muffin was a very soft close textured sponge made with chestnut flour. It was sweet and earthy but I loved the flavour.

I ate so much sugar and desserts in 22 hours that I returned with a real craving for vegetables, I felt I needed to re-vitaminise. We arrived back in Sheffield quite late. It had been a long day and a crazy 36 hours involving 14 hours travelling and only 22 hours actually in Paris but it was so much fun.

I would highly recommend both Chambelland Boulangerie and Helmut Newcake. Both so good and you wouldn’t know everything was gluten free. The UK is certainly lagging behind in their artisan patisserie, especially gluten free!

My only purchase from Paris was a whole half a slab of bread from Chambelland Boulangerie. I spotted them slicing some that was stuffed with fruits and nuts and really wanted to try it. I got a half slab as I hoped I would like it and knew I couldn’t exactly go back and buy more. I had some for tea when I got back home and it was fantastic. A slightly sour tasting bread absolutely packed with whole hazelnuts, juicy raisins and large chunks of dried fig. The crust was so thick and chewy I could hardly slice it with the bread knife. It was amazing!

Was an amazing sugar overloaded, gluten free pastry filled, long whirlwind of a trip to Paris. I was actually in Paris less than 24 hours but think I managed to consume 10 different pastries/desserts in that time! I’d love to go back and see some more of the traditional Paris sites, (I didn’t even manage to spot the Eiffel tower) and eat more patisserie! J'adore pâtisseries françaises!

Leiths School of Food & Wine: Gluten Free Pastry

After my Gluten Free Bread course, next day was Gluten Free Pastry. Gluten free pastry is a tricky one to master. It’s got to be sturdy enough to roll out and shape, and yet also be short and nicely crumbly once cooked. If you add too many gums or starches to replace the gluten it holds together and rolls our well, but then becomes tough and dense like cardboard when baked – not so tasty. Equally if you don’t get the right mix of gums and starches it becomes far too fragile and you end up with a pile of crumbs rather than a crisp pastry base.

On the plus side however, as there is no gluten to overwork, if your pastry falls apart when trying to line the tin then simply scoop it back together and re-roll it without too many issues. One of the best tips I know about how to easily roll out pastry is to roll it out between two sheets of clingfilm. This not only stops it sticking to the work surface and requires no extra flour, but also means you can use the base layer to help you lift and flip the pastry into the tin. (We were shown this on the course but I have been doing it myself for years).

On the course we learnt not only standard pastry, but also a few different types of pastry! Flaky Shortcrust which we turned into an amazing roast vegetable quiche for lunch

Pâte Sucrée with which we made delicious cherry Bakewell tarts

Hot Water Crust Pastry for sturdier meat pies and sausage rolls and even….Choux Pastry which we made into very cheesy Gougères!

The Choux and Hot Water Crust pastry were completely new to me so I was very excited. I have previously attempted a gluten free choux pastry and well… it was sort of a disaster so I was eager to see how it’s done. I’ve made my own gluten free Shortcrust and Pâte Sucrée before, but the techniques we were shown were new to me and produced fantastic results.

For the shortcrust pastry we were shown a very nifty technique for achieving ultra smooth pastry with the butter and flour evenly distributed in layers. It’s known as 'fraisering’. You start by rubbing the butter into the flour as normal and then squishing it into a rough log shape. Don’t kneed or over-handle it. You should still have a few lumps of butter mixed in. You then take your log of pastry and, using a pallet knife, cut off a slice about 5mm thick, almost to the base of the log. Then tilt your pallet knife to 45 degrees and drag it towards you, smearing out the pastry onto the work surface. Then carefully run your pallet knife back over it three times, each time collecting a little more of the pastry while you draw it towards yourself. (Almost like when making chocolate curls along the back of a block of chocolate). This smoothes the flour and butter into layers. Then place your smooth pastry piece to one side, cut another 5mm slice and repeat. At the end gather your pastry together (don’t kneed it), place it in some cling film and chill for 30 minutes before rolling it out between two large sheets of clingfilm and lining your tin. Such a simple technique but it really does produce the most smooth and evenly worked pastry. Plus you handle it very little so it stays nicely cool and the butter doesn’t melt.

Here the technique is beautifully hand modeled her by my friend Kizzy, who I met on the first day bread course and was back for the second day too!

The Pâte Sucrée (French sweet pastry) also had a very different technique. This was made almost like making fresh pasta. You start by pouring your dry ingredients on the work surface and making a well in the middle. Into this you add small cubes of butter and sugar, and squish them into a paste using the very tips of your fingers. You then add some egg yolks and again work them into the butter/sugar mix using your fingers until you end up with rather a soft and sloppy mixture. You then switch to a pallet knife and draw the flour into the butter mixture using a cutting and sweeping motion with the blade of the pallet knife. Once it begins to form a dough, keep chopping it with the blade and folding it back together with the knife almost like chopping fresh herbs. It will be too soft to handle with your hands.

Scoop the dough into a mound, wrap in clingfilm and chill before rolling out between two layers of clingfilm again. So clever! It produced the most amazing pastry. Really light, buttery and perfectly short. It held together beautifully but crumbled deliciously in the mouth.

Just look at the lovely little cherry Bakewell tarts we made with it. I took one of mine home and fed it to my parents. They can both be quite critical of gluten free food, but said they would never have known these were gluten free – hurrah!

We were running a bit short on time so in the afternoon we quickly made cheese gougères which are savoury cheesy choux buns. You eat them as they are, no extra filling required, the astonishing amount of cheese incorporated into the batter adding the flavour. When eaten warm the cheese is wonderfully melty. Kizzy and I decided to also added a pinch of paprika and chilli powder to ours for a bit of background heat. It also explains why ours came out a little orange!

They were delicious and certainly very cheesy, although sadly not as perfectly formed as we’d have liked as we ran out of time and had to take them out the oven before they were fully cooked. The top tip for this one is to let the batter cool before beating in the eggs to form the paste. (I think this is where I went wrong when I attempted them previously) It’s hard work beating in the eggs, you have to do it gradually and the mix is very thick and stiff, so you need a friend to help you or else some strong arm muscles!

Overall I had a fantastic day, the food was delicious, the company amazing and the techniques I learnt are invaluable. I can’t wait to try some out myself at home. At the start of the courses I was most looking forward to the bread day, but I think after doing both, the pastry has the edge on knowledge, skills and overall deliciousness value for me. I would really really recommend this pastry course to anyone struggling with gluten free pastry.

Note: As with the bread course, I attended this gluten free pastry course of my own accord. I was not invited by Leiths to attend, I received no discount on the fees and they never knew I write a food blog. 

Roasted Pepper & Pesto Quiche

Last weekend was dismally wet, grey and overcast, the ideal weather for staying inside and baking. I had a mix of red, orange and green peppers in the fridge that I’d bought on a whim without a plan of what to use them for. Peppers can be a bit dull and almost bitter when raw, especially the green ones, so I decided to roast them, which transforms their bitter crispness into wonderful soft, sweetness that tastes of the Mediterranean.

To keep up the Mediterranean theme I combined the peppers with the rest of an open jar of pesto, which together made the filling for a delicious quiche. The weather may have been dull and cold outside but I was determined to bring a little sunshine into the kitchen for lunch.

I made the pastry using a little buckwheat flour. Buckwheat sounds like it should contain gluten, but it’s actually a grain related to the rhubarb family and is naturally gluten free. It has a nutty earthy flavour that some people dislike, but I personally love it. It has good binding capabilities, helping to keep the pastry crisp and easy to work with without becoming too crumbly, which can be a problem with gluten free pasty. A good trick is to roll out the pastry between two layers of clingfilm and then use it to help you flip and line the tin without it breaking apart.

The combination of intense basil pesto and sweet silky roasted peppers tasted wonderful and I loved its bright and colourful appearance. The pesto layer partly disappeared into the eggy filling during baking, so it didn’t leave too much of an obvious layer, but the garlicky herby flavour was definitely still apparent.

It made a delicious light lunch and brought hope of sunny days (hopefully) to come. It was also great the next few days to take to work. I can never decide if I prefer quiche hot or cold, both ways are good.

Roasted Pepper & Pesto Quiche

Shortcrust Pastry

200g gluten free plain flour blend (I used 120g white rice flour, 60g buckwheat flour, 20g tapioca starch)

90g butter

1 egg

½ tsp xanthan gum

1-2 tbsp water

Filling

2 peppers (I used a mix of red, orange and green)

3 eggs

250ml milk

½ tsp garlic powder

Salt and pepper

2 tbsp pesto

8 cherry tomatoes

Roast Peppers

Heat the oven to 200C. Slice the peppers into chunks and place onto a baking tray and roast for 15 minutes. Give them a toss and roast for a further 10-15 minutes until soft and starting to caramelise around the edges.

Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, make the pastry.

Pastry Case

Have a 8 inch fluted tart tin to hand.

Mix the flours and xanthan gum together in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, add your butter, (it should be soft, if not blast it in the microwave for a few seconds) along with half the flour mixture, the egg and 1 tablespoon of the water. Beat with a spoon or spatula to form a paste. (Yes I know this goes against all traditional pastry making!)

Add the rest of the flour and bring the mixture together to form a dough, switching to your hands at the end. Add a little more water if it seems dry. Knead the dough gently for 1 minute to ensure everything is well combined.
Roll out the pastry between two large sheets of clingfilm to the size and shape of your tart tin, plus an extra 1-2 inches for the sides.
Peel off the top sheet of clingfilm, and use the base sheet to help you flip the pastry into the tin and press it down gently. Trim off the excess and patch up any cracks with the off-cuts of pastry.

Prick the pastry lightly with a fork and place on a baking tray.

Blind bake the pastry for 15 minutes at 200C until just starting to brown.

Remove from the oven and set aside. Reduce your oven to 180C.

Filling

In a jug, whisk together the eggs, milk and a little salt and pepper. Dissolve the garlic powder in 1 tsp milk and add to the mix.

Spread the base of the baked tart tin with the pesto. Arrange the roasted peppers on top and scatter in some quartered cherry tomatoes.

Place the tart into the oven and then pour the egg mixture over the top, using the jug to help you.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until the middle is set when gently shaken and is lightly golden on top.

Allow to cool slightly before serving. Also tastes delicious cold.

Makes 1 x 8 inch quiche

Starry Mince Pies with Zesty Orange Pastry (& Choc Shot Giveaway Winner)

I can’t believe Christmas is mere days away; it’s probably close enough to start counting down in hours! I have been so busy recently that I am quite behind on my festive baking. Last weekend I realised with shock that I hadn’t yet eaten a mince pie this Christmas! Being coeliac means it’s not so easy to come across gluten free mince pies at social gatherings or in bakers shops and I hadn’t got round to baking my own. I decided this would definitely not do and set about rectifying this immediately.

 

To give my mince pies a bit of an extra festive touch I flavoured the gluten free pastry with some orange zest. This gave the pastry a nice golden hue and a little extra zesty freshness. I liked how I could see the orange strands speckled throughout the pastry too. I love the combination of fresh orange with the heady spices used in the sweet boozy mincemeat.

I also topped the pies with pastry stars rather than round lids, as I like to see the mincemeat poking out between the stars points. Once baked they were given a light dusting of icing sugar and they were good to enjoy – or should that be scoffed considering I ate three in one afternoon? Oh well, they say pastry is best eaten on the day of baking, and I needed to make up for lost time.

 

I used the leftover scraps of pastry to make some festive pastry shapes, which I baked and devoured while still warm straight out the oven. This is a little treat that my mum always used to allow us to do whenever she made anything with pastry. It always makes me feel nostalgic and there’s no point letting it go to waste.

 

How many mince pies have you eaten this year? Do you even like mince pies? If not, what’s your festive go to treat?

 

In case I don’t blog again before Christmas I hope you all have a wonderful fun, friend, family and food filled festive day!

Starry Mince Pies with Zesty Orange Pastry

Ingredients

200g gluten free plain flour blend

90g butter

1 egg

40g icing sugar

Zest of 1 orange

½ tsp xanthan gum

1-2 tbsp water

½ jar gluten free mincemeat (most is GF but always best to check)

2 tsp milk for brushing

2 tbsp extra icing sugar for decoration

Method

Preheat your oven to 180C and have a 12 holed muffin tin to hand.

Mix the flour, 40g icing sugar, orange zest and xanthan gum together in a bowl.
Cut the butter into cubes, add to the flour and rub together using the tips fo your fingers, lifting the flour and butter up above the bowl and letting it fall back in as you squish the two together. Continue until the butter is broken down and coated in flour, it should look like chunky breadcrumbs.

Beat the egg, add to the bowl along with 1 tbsp water. Mix in using the tip of a round bladed butter knife. Once mostly incorporated using your hands to bring the mixture together to form a dough. Add a tiny bit more water if it seems too dry, but you don’t want a wet dough.

Knead the dough gently for 1 minute to ensure everything is well combined.
Roll out the pastry between two large sheets of clingfilm until 3-4mm thick.

Use a fluted cutter to cut out rounds to fit the wells of your muffin or tart tin. Gather up the off-cuts and re-roll them before cutting out 12 stars to act as pasty lids.

Fill the pastry shells with 1 heaped teaspoon of mincemeat and top each with a pastry star. Brush the tops with a little milk.

Bake in the oven for 18-22 minutes until lightly golden and firm to the touch.

Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before lifting out and transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Dust with icing sugar and enjoy while still warm.

Makes 12 mince pies

 

Note: Re-roll any leftover pastry scraps and cut out some festive shapes. Place on a baking tray and bake for 12-18 minutes (depending on size). Once baked, dust with icing sugar and enjoy while still hot.

Choc Shot Giveaway Winner

I’m also delighted to announce that the winner of the Choc Shot giveaway is… comment Number 5 – The Caked Crusader!

Her comment was picked by a random number generator. Congratulations Caked Crusader. I’ll be contacting you shortly for your address.