Christmas food: Mince pies recipe

A simple recipe for the classic festive snack

Ingredients

1 sheet ready rolled puff pastry

1 sheet ready rolled shortcrust pastry

1 jar mincemeat

Dried figs, finely chopped

Zest of 1 orange

1 tablespoon orange liqueur

1 egg white, beaten

Brown sugar, for sprinkling on top

Double cream

Icing Sugar

Almond liqueur

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees centigrade. In a bowl, add the mincemeat, dried figs, orange zest and orange liqueur. Roll out the shortcrust pastry, cut into rounds with a cookie cutter and place them into a cupcake tray.

Fill each pie with the mincemeat mixture. Roll out the puff pastry and cut out rounds with a slightly smaller cookie cutter and place on top of the pies. Brush with beaten egg white and sprinkle over some brown sugar.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. Leave them to cool on a cooling rack. In a bowl, combine the double cream, icing sugar and almond liqueur and whisk until thickened. With a kitchen syringe or a piping bag, squirt some of the mixture into each pie before serving.

Lisa Faulkner features in 12 Chefs of Christmas, which airs everyday this December at 11am on Food Network UK (Freeview 41, Sky 248, Freesat 149)