Mince Feet. Christmas fruit cakes

How to make Christmas fruit cakes or Mince Pies . Before you think what this is about the mince feet we clarify that it has nothing to do with what keeps us on the ground. That in which our legs end or where we put our shoes.

” Pie ” in English means ” cake ” in our language, a term that usually arouses great curiosity when we meet him for the first time.

The mince pies , therefore, are cakes filled with a sweet and sour mix made with fresh, dried fruit, spices and a touch of liquor. They are consumed in England throughout Christmas and are the most popular sweet of the time.

There is no home that one does not visit and the hosts offer you a cup of tea (of course!) With a mince pie. One more option for all the desserts and sweets that we have in the Christmas Special on the blog. It will not only be fritters , marzipans and nougat .

The origin of the mince pies is found in the Middle Ages, when these cakes were filled with meat. Hence the filling is called “mincemeat” or, which is the same, minced meat and spices.

Over time the filling evolved and the meat was left behind to make way for the fruits. However, the name has remained intact, despite having no meat inside.

Finding mincemeat in England is very easy as it is sold canned in all supermarkets and food stores, but in Spain things get complicated.

So, as we really like these cakes, we have decided to make our own “ mincemeat ”, something extremely simple, and treat ourselves to the most “British”. Oh yeah

Preparation of the dough and fillings to make Mince Pies

1. Chop the prunes into pieces equal in size to the raisins and sultanas. We put all the fruits in a bowl and cover them with tap water to hydrate them.
2. In a saucepan we mix the brown sugar together with a couple of tablespoons of water and the apple cider vinegar. We put it on a low heat and let the sugar dissolve slowly.
3. Meanwhile we peel the apple, remove the seeds and cut it into small cubes, equal in size to the raisins.
4. Add the butter to the saucepan and as soon as it melts, add the apple pieces. We cook over low heat for approximately five minutes. Better we cover the scoop to make it faster.
5. While this occurs, we grate the lemon and the orange. Drain the raisins and add it.
6. Finely chop the almonds. We can avoid this step if we buy almonds in granules, as long as they are raw, but it is not hard work so we will hardly notice any difference in the production of the mince pies.
7. In a mortar, crush the two cloves until obtaining a fine powder, add the rest of the spices, that is, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.
8. When the apple is poached, add the raisin mixture with the lemon and orange zest, the chopped almond and the spices. We remove, add a couple of tablespoons of water and cook over low heat for 15 minutes.
9. Finally we water with the rum and after a minute, enough time for the alcohol to evaporate, remove the scoop from the fire and let cool before mounting the mince feet.

Shape, bake and final presentation of the mince feet

1. We preheat the oven to 190ºC, up and down.
2. We roll out the shortcrust pastry with a rolling pin. It is not necessary to remove it from the paper in which it is rolled. What’s more, it will be very useful to use it as a base since it will not stick to the surface.
3. With a round cutter with a diameter slightly larger than the tartlet mold cavities that we use, we cut 12 circles from the shortcrust pastry. With the remaining mass we cut 12 stars.
4. We place the circles in the cavities of the mold and fill them with a teaspoon of the filling (remember, it has to be cold). Cover with the stars and bake, at medium height, for 15-20 minutes or until the dough begins to brown.
5. Remove from the oven and transfer to a metal rack until completely cooled.

When we are going to serve them, we sprinkle the surface with icing sugar and accompany them with milk tea for an experience as “British” as possible. We will enjoy a delicious snack.

If you do not want to miss a detail on how to prepare this recipe for the mince feet , click on the photos in the step by step.

Tips for about a mince feet of yummy

• If you have time, we recommend that you prepare your own shortcrust pastry. You already know that everything made at home is much better.
• The water in the filling or mincemeat can be replaced by lemon or orange juice (or both).
• The rum can be replaced by cognac or a liquor that goes to the mix of fruits and spices, Amaretto type or liquor from some dried fruit.
• The mince feet can be kept in a metal box for several days and last in good condition, although when they are richer they are freshly made.