Name: Mincemeat Pie With Cashew Brandy Cream
Prep time: 54 min
Cook time: 125 min
Total time: 180 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 1 tsp mixed spice; 1 kg cooking apples; 200 g muscovado sugar (light); 100 ml dry cider (medium); 0.5 tsp cinnamon; 1 grating nutmeg (generous); 1 pinch cloves; 100 g sultanas; 100 g raisins; 100 g currants; 100 g dried cranberries; 100 g cherries (glace, roughly chopped); 50 g ginger (stem, roughly chopped); 1 tbsp ginger syrup (from stem ginger); 100 g almonds (blanched, roughly chopped); 50 g pecans (roughly chopped); 1 null lemon (juice and zest of 1); 8 tbsp whiskey (or sherry); 1 tsp apple cider vinegar; 1 tbsp ice water; 2 tbsp olive oil; 125 g plain flour; 75 g ground almonds; 100 g golden caster sugar; 0.5 tsp salt; 0.5 tsp baking powder; 1 null orange (zest of 1); 1 tbsp vanilla extract; 4 tbsp icing sugar; 2 tbsp brown sugar (soft)

Instructions

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1

Preheat oven to 180°C. First, peel and roughly chop the cooking apples (1 kg) into slices.
2

Combine the muscovado sugar (200 g) and dry cider (100 ml) in a large saucepan, place over a medium heat and bring to the boil.
3

Add all the other mincemeat ingredients, apart from the whiskey, to the pan: mixed spice (1 tsp), cinnamon (0.5 tsp), nutmeg (1 grating), cloves (1 pinch), sultanas (100 g), raisins (100 g), currants (100 g), dried cranberries (100 g), cherries (100 g) (glace, roughly chopped), ginger (50 g) (stem, roughly chopped), ginger syrup (1 tbsp) (from stem ginger), almonds (100 g) (blanched, roughly chopped), pecans (50 g) (roughly chopped), lemon (1) (juice and zest). Stir well until thoroughly mixed. Cook over a medium heat, stirring regularly for minutes (30).
4

Remove from the heat and add the whiskey (8 tbsp) or sherry (8 tbsp), stirring to incorporate. If not using immediately, place in sterilised jars and seal.
5

To make the pastry, combine the plain flour (125 g), baking powder (0.5 tsp), ground almonds (75 g), golden caster sugar (100 g), salt (0.5 tsp) and orange (1) (zest of) in a bowl and mix well. Drizzle over olive oil (1 tbsp) and apple cider vinegar (1 tsp).
6

Add ice water (1 tbsp), adding up to ice water (2 tbsp) more if needed, mixing gently until the pastry comes together. Wrap tightly in cling film and allow to rest in the fridge for hour (1).
7

Grease a 22cm round tart shell with [olive oil]. Take the pastry out of the refrigerator. Dust a clean work surface with [plain flour] and roll out the pastry to approx cm (0.5) thickness and carefully place into the greased tart shell. If the pastry is difficult to roll, cover the base and sides of the tart tin with the pastry with your hands and mould it into the tin, making sure the pastry is cm (0.5) thick and well packed. Reserve any excess pastry and cut out star shapes to top the tart. Place in the fridge and allow to rest for minutes (30).
8

To finish the pie and bake, line the tart shell with baking parchment. Fill with baking beans and blind bake for minutes (15).
9

Remove the baking beans and return to the oven for a further minutes (5).
10

Add half of the mincemeat to the tart shell and top with the pastry stars. Brush the stars with olive oil (1 tbsp) and sprinkle demerara sugar (1 tbsp). Place in the oven and bake for [25-30 minutes].
11

While the tart is baking, make the cashew cream. Place all the ingredients (vanilla extract (1 tbsp), icing sugar (4 tbsp), brown sugar (2 tbsp) (soft), brandy (3 tbsp), cashews (300 g) (soaked), coconut milk (100 ml)) in a high speed blender and blitz until completely smooth. Place in the fridge until ready to serve. Sprinkle the tart with icing sugar (1 tbsp) (for garnish) and serve with the cashew brandy cream.