King’s Mince Pies
Ingredients
150 gm candied orange
70 gm each ginger in syrup and dried figs
150 gm each currants and sultanas
100 gm brown sugar
100 ml The King’s Ginger
Finely grated rind and juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon
½ tsp each ground nutmeg, ground allspice, ground cinnamon and ground cloves
750 gm butter puff pastry
For dusting: pure icing sugar
Shortbread
200 gm butter, slightly chilled
80 gm caster sugar
40 gm egg white (from about 1½ eggs), chilled
50 gm almond meal
200 gm (1 cups) plain flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
Method
Finely chop orange, ginger and figs. then combine with currants and sultanas in a bowl.
Add brown sugar, The King’s Ginger, rinds and juices, ground spices and ½ tsp salt. Mix to combine then cover and refrigerate to macerate (2-4 weeks). 3
For shortbread, beat butter in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth (2-3 minutes). Add sugar and beat to combine.
Gradually add eggwhite, mixing on medium speed until mixture turns white and very fluffy. Combine almond meal and flour in a bowl, then add to butter mixture along with vanilla, and mix on low speed to combine. Turn out dough and press into a disc, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (2 hours).
Halve the dough, roll each piece to 4mm thick between sheets of baking paper and freeze, separated and covered with baking paper, until firm (1 hour).
Remove top layer of baking paper and cut out heart shapes (or a shape of your choice) to fit tops of tarts (6cm-7cm wide), then freeze on a tray until required. Separate layers with baking paper if necessary.
Roll out puff pastry to 2mm thickness then cut out 7cm-diameter rounds to fit a 12-hole mini-muffin tin, then freeze discs on a tray until required. Separate layers with baking paper if necessary.
Preheat oven to 200C.
Remove puff pastry rounds from freezer to soften slightly, then line muffin holes.
Fill each tart with 1 tbsp fruit mince.
Top tarts with shortbread hearts, then bake in the lower third of the oven until puff pastry is puffed and golden (25-30 minutes; if shortbread browns to quickly, cover tray with foil), then reduce heat to 170C and bake until pastry is crisp and deep golden (10-15 minutes).
Remove from oven, set aside to cool on a wire rack, then dust with pure icing sugar and serve.