Having had a large bag of apples from a colleague in exchange for a bag of our pears, I decided to make mincemeat again - it's always good to get ahead for Christmas, even though I still have a jar left from last year! I used Nigella's no suet recipe, and as I could only buy a 500ml bottle of cider (and the recipe calls for 250ml), I decided to make a double quantity. It only just fitted into my Mum's pressure cooker (I don't use the pressure bit - I wouldn't know how - but it is the most cauldron like receptacle that I have). I've somehow ended up with 13 jars of the stuff! As I ran out of jam jars, I had to use an old Nutella jar and an old coffee jar which obviously don't seal properly - I'm keeping them in the fridge for now. But this is where my readers come in - please share with me your favourite things to do with mincemeat apart from mince pies as I'm going to have to try to use it up in the next couple of weeks. I'm thinking about an apple and mincemeat sponge pudding or maybe crumble, but does anyone have any other ideas?
There's a mincemeat tart I make where you blind bake the pastry, then cover the bottom in sliced peaches and then cover that with mincemeat. Then do a lattice of pastry on the top. I've no idea why (I'm not a huge mincemeat fan) but everyone seems to love this...
ReplyDeleteCath (read_warbler)
Looks lovely, Verity. I've never bothered to make my own mincemeat, though one of my cousins always does.
ReplyDeleteTomorrow's dessert is going to be apple and raspberry pasties, made with our own home grown apples and rasps. Have a pasty maker that I brought from Lakeland years ago, so that makes that part of the job easy peasy.
I think Delia has a recipe for a Christmas cake using mincemeat - a cheat's version she says.
ReplyDeleteHad a "brainwave" when I was in bed last night. I have in the past made Muffins, filling muffin cases 2/3 full of mixture, then adding tsp jam before topping up with rest of Muffin mixture, wonder if you could do that with mincemeat.
ReplyDeleteRoll out readymade puff pastry, spread mincemeat on same. Roll up, slice into little wheels. Sprinkle with sugar, put on a greased baking sheet (c. 180C -depends a bit on how hot your oven cooks) & bake until pastry done. Very nice. & very easy.
ReplyDeleteI made mincemeat this weekend too, using the Delia recipe. I don't have nearly as much as you, though, so mine's all for pies and I don't have any useful suggestions for you. I don't actually like mince pies (or Christmas cake or Christmas pudding for that matter) as I've never liked dried fruit, so Dave's office mates are going to be very happy indeed come December. Good luck using it all!
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