Christmas Mince Tart

December has been here a whole week and I have finally got around to making mince pies and more excitingly, this Christmas Mince Tart. It is a cross between a mince pie and a Bakewell tart, what’s not to love?! I took this tart to a mulled wine/lighting of the tree evening with neighbours and given how quickly it was gone, people seemed to like it as much as I did (it was delicious and ridiculously festive!). I’ve been craving mince pies for weeks but  Iwas holding out to make some with the homemade mincemeat I made earlier in the year. I’m so glad it is mulled wine season, I really do love the stuff and it goes dangerously well with this tart. I generally don’t drink at all, that is until it is mulled wine season and I make a rather large exception.

I used a gluten free pastry made from almond and coconut flour, it is difficult to handle before it is cooked but it is delicious! Shortcrust pastry would work just as well for those with a better gluten tolerance. I’m eager to make a pastry using gluten free flour, has anyone done this, successfully or unsuccessfully?

Ingredients:

• Shortcrust pastry to make a 11 inch tart crust, I used gluten free pastry.
• 1 jar of mincemeat (preferably homemade)
• 125 g of butter
• 125 g of sugar
• 125 g of ground almonds
• 1 egg
• 0.5 tsp of almond extract
• Flaked almonds and orange zest, to sprinkle on top, optional

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C.
2. Line your (~11 inch shallow) flan dish with pastry and then top with foil and place baking beans or rice on top of the foil. Bake for 15 minutes.
3. Remove the beans/rice and foil and bake for a further 5 minutes.
4. Whilst the tart is baking, make the filling; melt the butter in a pan, keep it on the heat just long enough to melt the butter and try not to let the butter get too hot. Beat the egg in a separate small bowl. Stir the sugar, ground almonds, almond extract and beaten egg into the pan of butter. Set aside.
5. Remove the tart crust from the oven and then spread your mincemeat evenly across the bottom of the tart.
6. Top with the filling and spread smoothly across the whole surface.
7. Top with flaked almonds and orange zest and bake for 40 minutes. If the top begins to brown too quickly, cover the tart in foil. I didn’t do this for this bake, so hopefully you won’t need to either, keep an eye on it though.
8. Remove from the oven when golden brown and the filling cooked through (it shouldn’t wobble). Let the tart cool before serving (if you can wait that long, it smells incredible!).

 

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