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A number of weeks back I ran across a photo on Pinterest of the cutest mince pie. It was shaped like a gingerbread house. I traced it back to here, which was a compilation of a lot of different gingerbread houses. But the actual link given for the original source was dead. Never mind.
I save the picture to my desktop with the idea in mind that I was going to try to do something similar this year for Christmas. Today was the day.
I gathered all of my ingredients together and made myself a cardboard house pattern. I then just flew by the seat of my pants. I have tried to write all the steps in the recipe in a way that you can understand what I did.
I was very much reminded of when my children were growing up and I used to make them a gingerbread house every year for Christmas. One year I actually made them a gingerbread Christmas tree, complete with little sugared candles on the branches and gummy bear ornaments, etc. I wish I had a photo of it to show you. It was a real labor of love.
This mincemeat tart is nowhere near as time consuming or difficult to make as a gingerbread house, but it is every bit as delicious and as cute. Well, I think so at any rate! I hope you will be inspired to want to make one of your own! Trust me when I tell you it’s not all that hard to do! Cute. Cute. Cute.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE A PRETTY GINGERBREAD INSPIRED MINCE TART
Just a few simple ingredients. This is not a real budget breaker.
1 box containing two sheets of frozen all butter puff pastry. (Put in the refrigerator overnight to thaw)
1 jar of your favorite kind of prepared mincemeat (You will probably not need it all.)
1 large egg yolk, beaten together with 1 tsp water
1 TBS demerara sugar
a pizza cutter, ruler, and paper cut out
icing sugar to dust the finished tart
If you are a really keen baker, of course, you could make your puff pastry from scratch. Or you could use short crust pastry if you are not fond of puff pastry. It will be delicious either way. Here in Canada, I used the PC brand which is found in the frozen section of the grocery shops.
In the U.K. I would use Jus Rol ready rolled all butter puff pastry. In the States I think that Pepperidge Farm makes a decent one.
I use British Mincemeat. A popular brand here in Canada that you can find in the shops is Robertsons. I buy mine online at Blighty’s and it is a bit thicker and fruiter than the Robertsons. You could also make your own from scratch. I have an excellent recipe here for it. I promise you it is really good.
HOW TO MAKE A GINGERBREAD HOUSE INSPIRED MINCE TART
Trust me when I tell you that making this is a lot simpler than it might look. The hardest part is working while the pastry is still cold. If your pastry gets too warm, pop it back into the fridge for a bit to give it another chill.
You will need to work fast with this so make sure you have everything ready to go before you start. Puff pastry needs to be used cold.
Preheat the oven to 375&F/190*C/gas mark 5. Have ready a medium sized baking sheet, lined with baking parchment.
Make your house pattern. I cut a 8-inch square out of cardboard. I marked a dot at the center of the top and at the center of both sides. I then used the ruler to make a straight line from the dot at each side to the dot in the center of the top. This is your house shape.
Beat the egg and water together and have it ready to go. Open your mincemeat. I used a pizza cutter to cut my pastry. It worked beautifully.
Un-roll one sheet of the pastry, cold from the refrigerator. Place the cardboard pattern on one side of the pastry so that one side of the house aligns with the side of the pastry and the bottom aligns with the bottom of the pastry.
Use your pizza cutter to cut out around the house. Place this piece of pastry on your lined baking sheet. Spread mincemeat over the house to within 1/2 inch of the edges all around. Brush some of the egg wash around the edges that are not covered with mincemeat.
Unroll your other sheet of pastry and repeat, cutting out the house as before. Do not move it yet. (With this one, you will need to cut out some windows, a roof, chimney and any other decorations you might need.)
Using small cookie cutters cut out several windows. Now remove the house and place on top of the mincemeat spread piece of pastry on the baking sheet, to cover the mincemeat completely. Using a fork, pinch the pastry shut all around the edges.
Using the scraps of still cold puff pastry, cut out a roof edge, and any other shapes you might want, such as a Christmas tree, door, some gingerbread people and a chimney. Cut thin strips to use as the windowpane markings and attach these to the windows you had cut out on the house. (A dab of the egg wash helps them to adhere at the ends.) You might also want to place a strip around the edges of the windows to make a frame. Again, use the egg wash to help it adhere.
Use the egg wash to help the roof attach, the chimney and any other cuttings/shapes you have cut out. Trust me when I say there is no wrong way to do this. It is going to end up cute no matter what.
I used a toothpick to mark a design on the tree and gingerbread people eyes, bricks on the chimney, etc.,
Brush the top of the tart all over with the egg wash. Sprinkle the demerara sugar in between the doors, windows etc.
Pop into the preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes until golden brown and puffed. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature before eating.
Dust with icing sugar to serve. Stand back and let everyone admire it for a bit, then cut into 8 rectangles to serve.
I was a little nervous starting off to make this tart. I thought it would be quite complicated and time consuming. It might be if you were a perfectionist, but there is simply no way that you could make this tart without it ending up cute! Seriously.
I was very pleased with the end result. This is delicious as is, cut into servings, or you can amp it up by serving it warm with some clotted cream, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream on top. I dare say it would be excellent if served with lashings of custard sauce as well!
Jarred mincemeat is something which I keep in my cupboard pretty much all year round, not just at Christmas, although I do primarily use it at this time of year. Here are some other delicious ways to use it that you might also enjoy!
MINCEMEAT ORANGE MEUSLI MUFFINS - These are a delicious, moist muffin, flavored with, ground almonds, some orange marmalade and orange liqueur. I used Grand Marnier, but you could use any orange liqueur that you like or even just orange juice if you don’t want to use alcohol. The muffin mixture is put into buttered ramekins over the top of mincemeat. (About 1 TBS per ramekin.) A muesli-like streusel is sprinkled over top and then they are baked to delicious perfection. These are lovely for breakfast, eaten right out of the ramekin.
APPLE & MINCEMEAT PUDDING - This very popular and delicious pudding makes a great alternative to a traditional Christmas Pudding. You place a layer of cooked apple on the bottom of a casserole dish. This gets covered with a moist mincemeat laced cake batter and then baked. The tartness of the apple makes for a beautiful contrast to the sweet cake. This is gorgeous served warm, spooned into bowls with lashings of custard or brandy sauce spooned over top.
This 8-inch Mince Tart is cute, cute, CUTE!! It’s also not as hard to make as one might suppose. Trust me on this. If I can do this anyone can!
Ingredients
1 box containing two sheets of frozen all butter puff pastry. (Put in the refrigerator overnight to thaw)
1 jar of your favorite kind of prepared mincemeat (You will probably not need it all.)
1 large egg yolk, beaten together with 1 tsp water
1 TBS demerara sugar
a pizza cutter, ruler, and paper cut out
icing sugar to dust the finished tart
Instructions
You will need to work fast with this so make sure you have everything ready to go before you start. Puff pastry needs to be used cold.
Preheat the oven to 375&F/190*C/gas mark 5. Have ready a medium sized baking sheet, lined with baking parchment.
Make your house pattern. I cut a 8-inch square out of cardboard. I marked a dot at the center of the top and at the center of both sides. I then used the ruler to make a straight line from the dot at each side to the dot in the center of the top. This is your house shape.
Beat the egg and water together and have it ready to go. Open your mincemeat. I used a pizza cutter to cut my pastry. It worked beautifully.
Un-roll one sheet of the pastry, cold from the refrigerator. Place the cardboard pattern on one side of the pastry so that one side of the house aligns with the side of the pastry and the bottom aligns with the bottom of the pastry.
Use your pizza cutter to cut out around the house. Place this piece of pastry on your lined baking sheet. Spread mincemeat over the house to within 1/2 inch of the edges all around. Brush some of the egg wash around the edges that are not covered with mincemeat.
Unroll your other sheet of pastry and repeat, cutting out the house as before. Do not move it yet. (With this one, you will need to cut out some windows, a roof, chimney and any other decorations you might need.)
Using small cookie cutters cut out several windows. Now remove the house and place on top of the mincemeat spread piece of pastry on the baking sheet, to cover the mincemeat completely. Using a fork, pinch the pastry shut all around the edges.
Using the scraps of still cold puff pastry, cut out a roof edge, and any other shapes you might want, such as a Christmas tree, door, some gingerbread people and a chimney. Cut thin strips to use as the windowpane markings and attach these to the windows you had cut out on the house. (A dab of the egg wash helps them to adhere at the ends.) You might also want to place a strip around the edges of the windows to make a frame. Again, use the egg wash to help it adhere.
Use the egg wash to help the roof attach, the chimney and any other cuttings/shapes you have cut out. Trust me when I say there is no wrong way to do this. It is going to end up cute no matter what.
I used a toothpick to mark a design on the tree and gingerbread people eyes, bricks on the chimney, etc.,
Brush the top of the tart all over with the egg wash. Sprinkle the demerara sugar in between the doors, windows etc.
Pop into the preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes until golden brown and puffed. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature before eating.
Dust with icing sugar to serve.
Stand back and let everyone admire it for a bit, then cut into 8 rectangles to serve.
Did you make this recipe?
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