Easy frangipane mince pies made completely from scratch with a few basic store cupboard ingredients. The homemade frangipane topping is soft and spongy with a sweet almond flavour. This is surely one of the best ways to enjoy mince pies and amazing with a bit of brandy cream! The pastry can be mixed by hand in just 10 minutes and the pies themselves need just 20 minutes in the oven.
Add the flour and cold, cubed butter to a large mixing bowl. Use your finger tips to rub the butter into the flour until a breadcrumb consistency is reached.
Next add the ground almonds, icing sugar and orange zest to the bowl. Stir into the crumb until evenly mixed.
Whisk one large egg in a jug then gradually add to the mixture. Mix well between each addition and stop adding the egg when the pastry starts to come together. TIP: If you have added all the egg and the pastry hasn't come together, add small spoonfuls of a second egg or cold water until it does come together.
Turn the pastry out onto a clean, floured work surface and shape into a ball. Wrap in cling film and place into the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes. The colder the better!
To make the frangipane
Whilst the pastry is in the fridge, the frangipane can be made. Start by setting up your food processor with the blade attachment and then add the butter and caster sugar.
Turn on the processor and blend together until creamy and lighter in colour.
Next, with the processor turned off, crack one of the eggs into to processor and add a tablespoon of the ground almonds. Turn the processor on and blend until the egg is fully combined. Repeat with the second egg.
Remove the mixer bowl from the processor and take out the blade. Then add the remaining ground almonds and the flour to the mixture. Fold in well using a spatula until fully combined. Store the frangipane in the fridge until ready to use.
Putting together the mince pies
Once the pastry is well chilled, roll out on a floured work surface into a rough circle around 2-3mm thick. Work quickly and don't over handle. Warm pastry is more likely to break. Use an 8cm round, fluted cutter to cut out circles for the base of each mince pie. TIP: use a size of round cutter that is slightly larger than the holes of your mince pie tray.
To prevent the mince pies from sticking during baking, lightly grease your mince pie tray and lightly sprinkle with flour, tapping off the excess. Then carefully place the pastry circles into the holes of the tray and add a teaspoon of mincemeat filling to each one. (Optional: Stir cranberry sauce into mincemeat first for an extra festive twist).
Then add a teaspoon of frangipane on top of the mincemeat. No need to spread out the frangipane or make it look neat - it will spread and settle evenly during baking. TIP: only add a teaspoon of frangipane, more than this will be too much and will spill over the edges of the pastry.
Add a few flaked almonds to the top of the frangipane, if desired, then place in the centre of a pre heated oven and bake at 170℃/340℉ for 20 minutes or until the frangipane is golden brown around the edges.
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Notes
Adding egg to pastry: Only 1 egg is required to make this pastry recipe. If the egg is particularly large you may not need all of it. So add the egg gradually and stop when the pastry starts to come together. Or if you don't have enough egg add small spoonfuls of a second egg or cold water until the pastry starts to come together. What is the best way to work with the pastry? To make this recipe easier and to keep the pastry colder for longer I suggest making half to begin with. This means halving the chilled pastry and returning one half to the fridge and rolling out the second half to make 12 mince pies. Once these have been filled and placed in the oven the rest of the pastry can be rolled out to make the rest of the pies.How to stop the pastry from breaking when placing in the tray holes? Pastry is a lot easier to handle when cold. Once made, make sure it is well chilled for at least 30 minutes. Leave it for longer if you can. Then roll out quickly and try not to over handle the cut out circles before placing in the tray.How should mince pies be stored? Allow the mince pies to fully cool then wrap in foil or cling film and store in an air tight container for up to 1 week.Can mince pies be frozen? Freezing mince pies is a fantastic way to have homemade mince pies on hand whenever you want them. Allow the pies to fully cool then stack in a sealable container and freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost, pop out as many pies as you need then leave on the side to fully defrost for a couple of hours. To reheat, place defrosted pies in a warm oven for 5 minutes.What can I add to a jar of mincemeat? This recipe suggests adding cranberry sauce to the mincemeat for a bit of extra Christmas flavour. Other additions could include orange zest, crushed hazelnuts, splash of rum or brandy, tinned cherries (chopped), dried apricots or some christmassy spices such as cinnamon or nutmeg.