Mince pies with crumbly Italian pastry

Mince pies with crumbly Italian pastry. This rich buttery pastry perfectly compliments the spicy deliciousness of British mince pies. You won't go back to shortcrust.

You will need to start by making your mince meat. you can do this well in advance or, if you are short of time, buy a large jar.

The pastry used for these pies is usually shortcrust but I prefer a richer crumbly pastry so I make a pasta frolla, which is an Italian version of pat sucre. It really is yummy so please give it a go

Ingredients for Pasta Frolla

200g  ‘00’ flour this is the best.
120g butter I used salted. If you use unsalted you will need to add a big pinch of salt.
90g sugar The finer the sugar, the crispier the pastry.
2 egg yolks
Grated rind of half a lemon or a teaspoon of vanilla essence.

Method

Start by creaming the butter, lemon rind and the sugar.
When you have creamed the mixture for about 5 minutes, beat in the egg.
Mix in the flour until the mixture comes together and forms a soft dough. Put in the fridge for 30 minutes. The butter will firm up and make it easier to roll out the pastry.
Working with about a third of the dough at a time cut out rounds that will fit your pie tin. Remember to keep enough pastry back to cut out the lids.

Fill each pie with mince meat and top with a lid. brush with milk and cook at approx 180C until a golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool a little before removing from the tin. Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy warm with the breath of the oven still on them.

Added by: Yvonne Randall

Related products

All Purpose Flour (Gluten-Free) (810)
Shipton Mill gluten-free plain white flour is great for everyday and keeping the cupboard stocked for lots of eventualities.

French Type 45 White Flour (103)
Our type 45 is designed to be used for making fine puff pastry, and is a classic example of a “Farine Supérieure”.

Organic Finely Ground 100% Wholemeal Pastry Flour (203)
This 100% wholemeal pastry flour has been milled to an exceptionally fine consistency, to give you the very best results.

Soft Cake and Pastry Organic White Flour (117)
Made from English organic wheat, which because of the cool maritime climate and the lower natural soil fertility is seldom rich in protein.

Related articles

All butter short crust pastry

Delicious short buttery pastry

Oven baked Pastry with mashed potatoes and hotdogs

These pastries are oven baked , you can use a variety of fillings

Vegan Apple Cinnamon and Cardamom Galette (with an Italian twist :))

I love this galette! the apple and cardamom flavors make it super comforting during long winter nights, yet it absolutely healthy and you can enjoy it guilt free!

Christmas Shortbread Crunch Biscuits!

I love a crunchy biscuit with a Christmas time cuppa, and lots of home made biscuit recipes end up a bit soft

Festive Christmas Soda Bread

A spicy festive, quick bread which uses the Heritage Blend Stoneground Wholemeal Organic flour