Vegan Mince Pies.
It’s the second week of December and I’m back with another festive recipe for you to get stuck into. Before I dive in and guide you through this delicious recipe, I’m going to tell you a bit about how the recipe has evolved over time to become the mouth-watering treat we know it as today. In the spirit of the meat-free journey mince pies have gone on, the recipe that I walk you through will be entirely vegan; this recipe will be suitable for those who require a dairy free diet, vegetarian and vegans. If you remove the hazelnuts from this recipe, the mince pies will also be suitable for those with a nut allergy.
The History of Mince Pies.
The first record of mince pies can be traced back all the way to 1390 in the English cookbook A Forme of Cury which was originally written on a scroll and rather than mince pies, they were called ‘tartes of flesh’. Far from berries and dried fruit, this recipe instructed bakers to grind up hard-boiled eggs, cheese and pork before mixing it with sugar, spices and saffron. In 1615 another recipe redolent of today’s mince pies was recorded in Gervase Markham’s The English Huswife. The book detailed a recipe that uses an entire leg of mutton and three pounds of suet along with cloves, salt, currants, mace, prunes, raisins, dates and orange peel. These pies were extremely large and nothing like the finger food they are today, but with currants, raisins and orange peel, as you can see we’re starting to get closer to today’s recipe.
It wasn’t until the 17th Century that a connection was established between mince pies and Christmas, although at this point they were eaten all year round. Samuel Pepys had mince pies at an anniversary party in January of 1661 for his friend, where there were eighteen mince pies laid out, one for every year of the couple’s marriage. Samuel himself then expected the treats for Christmas, and when his wife became too ill to make them for him, he had the pies delivered to him. It wasn’t until 1747 that the first entirely sweet meat-free mince pie was recorded in Hannah Glasse’s Art of Cookery. Glasse’s recipe called for the reader to blend apples, currants, raisins, suet and sugar together which should then be layered in a pastry crust with orange peel, lemon and red wine before being baked. As sugar became easier to get and cheaper due to the rise of sugarcane plantations in the West Indies, sweet pies became more common, with Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management detailing a meat–free sweet pie alongside a version that includes meat. By the time the Victorian Era began, mince pies were completely meat free and sugary.
Vegan Mince Pie Recipe.
Equipment.
- Roasting Tray or Casserole Dish
- Foil
- Food Processor
- Clingfilm
- Large Knife
- Rolling Pin
- 9cm Cookie Cutter
- 8cm Cookie Cutter
- Star Shaped Cutter
- Two 12-Hole Cupcake Tins
- Wooden Spoon
- Tea Towel
- Large Spoon
- Baking Sheet
- Baking Parchment
- Pastry Brush
- Sieve or Flour Sifter
Running low on equipment or want to up your festive baking game with new tools? Take a look at our Cookers and Ovens website to find everything you will need this December; who knows, maybe you’ll find the perfect gift for someone special whilst you’re browsing.
Ingredients for the Pastry.
- 200g of Coconut Oil, straight out of the fridge (it should be as solid as possible)
- 400g of Flour
- 50ml of Non-Dairy Milk, for brushing the pastry
- 50ml of Ice-Cold Vodka
- 20g of Icing Sugar, plus extra for dusting
- 2 tbsp of Ice-Cold Water
Ingredients for the Filling.
- 100g of Skinless Hazelnuts, roasted and roughly chopped
- 1 Large Apple (around 200g), peeled and grated
- 1 Orange, zested and juiced
- 200g of Mixed Dried Fruit
- 390g of Jar Black Cherries in Kirsch
- 1 tsp of Ginger
- 1 tsp of Cinnamon
- 1 tsp of Allspice
- 150g of Dark Brown Sugar
Method.
Step One:
Heat up your oven to 180℃/160℃ fan/Gas 4 and tip all of your mincemeat ingredients into a roasting tray or casserole dish – remember to include half of the kirsch from your jar of black cherries. Mix all of the ingredients together and then cover with a sheet of foil. You should then bake your mixture for 35-40 minutes until all of the sugar has melted and the mixture is bubbling slightly at the edges; the liquid should have reduced slightly, but it can firm as the mixture cools, so be mindful not to over-reduce the mixture. Set your mixture aside to cool completely. Don’t forget, if you want to prepare this mixture in advance if you’re busy with the holiday bustle, you can make this mixture up to three days in advance and leave it to chill in the fridge.
Step Two:
Now we’ll start the pastry making process by tipping coconut oil and your flour into a food processor and pulse the processor until the mixture starts to resemble breadcrumbs. Once the mixture looks like breadcrumbs, add in your sugar and pulse the processor to combine. Then, pour your vodka into the mixture and 2 tbsp of ice-cold water and pulse until the pastry starts to come together. If the pastry looks a little dry, you can add another 2 tbsp of water and then tip the dough out onto a clean work surface and pat the dough into a disk using your hands. You should then wrap the dough in cling film and let it chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Step Three:
Now that your dough has been chilled for 30 minutes, cut off one-third of the pastry and keep it covered under a tea towel. Cut the rest of the dough into five chunks and, one chunk at a time, you should squeeze the pastry with your hands until it is malleable and use a rolling pin to roll it out on a well-floured surface to a thickness of approximately 0.5cm. Now that the pastry has been rolled out, use a 9cm cookie cutter to cut out circles and line 18 holes of two 12-hole cupcake tins. Repeat this process with the remaining chunks, and you can re-roll off-cuts where necessary.
Step Four:
Place a heaped spoonful of mincemeat in the middle of every single, then place the pies in the fridge. Take the remaining pastry from under the tea towel and roll it out to 0.5cm thickness. Transfer the pastry to a baking sheet which should be lined with baking parchment. Leave the pastry to chill for 15 minutes so that it can firm up.
Step Five:
We’ve reached our final step, so keep going – you’ve got this. Heat up your oven to 180℃/160℃ Fan/Gas 4. Whilst you wait for your oven to reach temperature, remove your pastry sheet from the fridge and use an 8cm cookie cutter to cut out nine circles and then use a star cutter to cut out the middle. Take your mince pies out of the fridge and place the stars on half of the pies and the stamped-out circles on the other half. Use your fingers to seal the bases and tops, then use a pastry brush to brush the tops with your dairy-free milk. Bake the mince pies for 30 minutes until your pastry is golden and crisp. When your pies have baked, leave them to cool and then use a sieve or flour sifter to dust the mince pie with a little bit of icing sugar before you serve them.
Festive Recipe Blog Series:
If you have enjoyed reading about the history of Mince Pies and following the recipe, you can read all about Hanukkah Dish, Sufganiyot and fan favourite, Mary Berry’s Classic Christmas Cake before returning next week to see which gorgeous dish we’ll be baking together.
Great British Bake Off Blog Series:
If you are maxed out on the festive recipe series, you can find inspiration from our blog series on The Great British Bake Off 2021 that features some seriously delicious recipes, including Paul Hollywood’s Ciabatta and Tzatziki Dip during bread week.