Sourdough Mince Pies With Brandy Icing
These sourdough mince pies are a great way to use up discarded starter. The pastry's super flaky, the mincemeat's nutty & the icing's boozy. This is a next level batch of festive pies!
Servings: 12 Mince Pies
Equipment
- 12 Hole Muffin Tin
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Small Mixing Bowl
- Rolling Pin
- Palette Knife
- 9½ cm Round Fluted Pastry Cutter
- Wire Cooling Rack
Ingredients
Sourdough Discard Shortcrust Pastry
- 210 g Plain Flour
- 50 g Icing Sugar
- ½ tsp Table Salt
- 140 g Unsalted Butter
- 80 g Sourdough Discard Cold
- 1 Egg Yolk
Assembly
- 20 g Melted Butter To Brush The Tin
- 400 g Mincemeat See Notes
Brandy Icing
- 100 g Fondant Icing Sugar
- ½ tsp Vanilla Paste
- ½ tsp Brandy
- Cold Water
Instructions
Sourdough Pastry
- Sift the flour, icing sugar & salt into a large mixing bowl.
- Cut the butter into small pieces, add into the flour, then rub in with your fingers until the mix resembles breadcrumbs with some large pieces of butter still visible.
- Add the sourdough & egg yolk into the flour then mix with your hands until the pastry starts to come together. Tip out onto a clean worksurface & gently knead until you have a smooth dough (be careful not to overwork).
- Flatten the pastry into a disc, wrap in clingfilm & refrigerate overnight (or up to 2 days).
Assembly
- Take the pastry out of the fridge & leave to warm up at room temperature for 20 minutes.
- Brush a 12 hole muffin tray with the melted butter & set aside.
- Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of 3 mm then cut out 12 circles using a 9½ cm fluted cutter.Knead together the pastry trimmings & re roll if necessary.
- Gently press the circles of pastry into the muffin tray, making sure that the pastry reaches the top of each hole.
- Fill each mince pie ⅔ full with mincemeat then chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Baking
- Preheat an oven to 180°c/160°c fan (356°f/320°f).
- Bake the mince pies for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is crisp & golden brown.
- Let the mince pies cool in the tin for a couple of minutes then gently press the mincemeat down with a teaspoon so that it is flat on top.
- Using a small palette knife, transfer the mince pies to a cooling rack & leave to cool completely before icing.
Brandy Icing
- Sift the fondant icing sugar into a mixing bowl then add in the vanilla paste & brandy.
- Stir together, adding enough cold water to make a smooth, thick icing.I'd recommend starting with 1 tsp of water then adding in more as necessary.
- Pour icing over each mince pie so that it sits level with the top of the pastry, without overflowing.
- Leave to set for 15-20 minutes then serve.
Notes
1. Cooking In An Aga - Bake the mince pies in the baking oven on the second from bottom set of runners. If the pastry starts to brown too much, move the tray down a set of runners.
2. Mincemeat - For this recipe, you can use shop bought mincemeat or make your own. My homemade mincemeat recipe can be found here.
3. Storage – Once cool, store the mince pies in an airtight container. They are best eaten within 3 days of being made.
4. Sourdough - This pastry uses discard from a 100% hydration starter. The discard should be fridge cold & ideally be no older than 3 days old.
5. Pastry - The pastry can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days before being rolled out. Because of the sourdough in the pastry, it isn't really suitable for freezing.