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Recipes from my Lincolnshire kitchen

mince pie frangipane tart

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… the christmas decorations went up yesterday.  Well, not quite everything.  We’re not going to get the tree until the 19th, which is the day that Christmas begins here at Belleau cottage this year.  London will be done and the festivities will commence – well, the sitting around eating cheese shall commence… Plus, we have a giant new wood-burning stove sitting in the space where the christmas tree usually goes and we’re hoping this goes in next week, perfectly in time for snuggling in front of the fire over the holidays.  I love rummaging around in the loft looking for the decorations boxes and then slowly bringing out each piece of tinsel and the strings of lights.  It’s the memories in each bauble and decoration that we treasure… a silver fox that reminds us of Holly or a knitted star that brings back fond memories of the Christmas market… we usually buy one or two new baubles every year, depending on where we are and what we’ve done – more memories to hang on the tree – and the rigid theming of the ice blue and white and gone south slightly in recent years as these new elements have been added.  There’s never a rush either, for us the decorating is the best bit and it brings us together again as a family and seals the deal for the true start to Christmas.

mince pie frangipane tart
as always looking for something a little different to do with mincemeat at this time of the year, I was eating a slice of cherry bakewell the other day and it hit me that if you simply replaced the jam with mincemeat you have a very christmas-friendly tart… the marzipany ground almonds of the frangipane of course works wonders with the sweet-sharpness of the boozy mincemeat and the almond and cream cheese pastry is divine to hang it all together… I think i’ve found an absolute christmas winner…

for the almond and cream cheese pastry

300g plain flour 
3/4 teaspoon baking powder 
112g caster sugar 
150g unsalted butter 
100g full fat cream cheese (I used cottage cheese which was excellent) 
75g ground almonds 
1 egg yolk a little milk to bind
for the frangipane
75g butter
75g caster sugar
2 eggs – beaten
75g ground almonds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract – I used nielsen-massey of course

1 400g jar of your favourite mincemeat – I used the Aldi ‘Specially Selected’ brandy infused mince meat – but if you want to make your own try Karen’s

i’m using an oblong fluted tart case which i’ve greased well with butter but any shape case will work – or even regular mince pie tarts would be nice…

start with the pastry – sift the flour, baking powder and sugar into a bowl, add the butter and rub until it resembles breadcrumbs – add the cream cheese, ground almonds and egg yolk, take a knife and mix until it comes together into a dough, you may need to add a little milk here, as I did. – chill the dough for at least 30 mins
now make the frangipane filling – place the butter and sugar into a large bowl and using a hand-held whisk whizz until creamy, then add the eggs and beat in, then mix in the ground almonds and vanilla. 
pre-heat the oven to 170C fan
roll out your pastry on a very well-floured surface – I am very generous with the flour on the top and underneath this pastry – and then roll out (I adore this pastry nice and thick)
lay the pastry into the case and gently tease it into the fluted sides and press down then trim the edges
spoon your mince meat into the tart and spread it our evenly then gently spread over the frangipane mix… if you have any pastry left you can use it to create a lattice top or maybe some small mince pies
bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the frangipane turns golden – set aside to cool before slicing

eat and of course, enjoy!

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Comments

  3. Angela Entwistle says

    Wow, this sounds divine – frangipane and sweet mincemeat! Perfect! I adore making pastry and yet have never come across one with cream cheese in it….it's certainly on my list to try, it sounds wonderful 🙂
    Angela x

  7. Choclette Blogger says

    Wow Dom, you do know how to get me in the Christmas mood. Decorations, trees and roaring fires sound good enough, but this tart is just fabulous. I've made something similar before, but not with your delicious sounding pastry. Must really get on and make my mince meat. I didn't make any last year and have run out. Mine always has chocolate in, of course 😉

  8. Karen Booth says

    Boom! That's what I'm making this year when I put our tree up! We start decorating about the 3rd Sunday in advent – that's today – and like you I've been rummaging in the attic! Thanks for the mincemeat mention too. Karen