Mince pies are a staple at Christmas, top them with Ricciarelli, a traditional Italian almond biscuit, for a luxurious twist. If you have any topping left, shape it into balls, roll in icing sugar, press lightly to crack the icing sugar outside and shape the ends a little to make small ovals. Bake in the same way as the mince pies. They will be slightly crisp on the outside and soft in the centre. Cool and store in an airtight container and offer one to anyone who doesn’t fancy a traditional mince pie!
Serves:12
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 200g icing sugar
- 200g ground almonds
- 1 pinch of salt
- ½ orange, zested
- 1 tbsp almond extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 320g shortcrust pastry
- 250g mincemeat
- Icing sugar for dusting
Preparation Time: 25 minutes. Cooking Time: 30 minutes.
1. You will need a 12 hole tart tin.
2. First make the Ricciarelli topping. Whisk the egg whites with the lemon juice until fluffy.
3. Then whisk in the icing sugar and carefully fold in the ground almonds, salt, orange zest, almond extract and vanilla extract. Set aside for a while to dry out a little at room temperature.
4. Next, roll out the pastry to the thickness of a pound coin and cut circles a little bigger than the tart tin holes and line each one. Reroll pastry as needed. Don’t worry about trimming any pastry that sits above the tin, this is best done once chilled. Chill in the fridge or freezer for 15 minutes. The pastry cases can be made well ahead like this, frozen until needed and filled and baked from frozen.
5. To assemble, take the chilled tart tin, trim off any excess pastry level with the surface of the tin for a neat finish and put a teaspoon of mincemeat in each tart hole.
6. Take a dessert spoonful of the Ricciarelli dough, roll into a ball, roll in icing sugar and flatten a little. They should be just smaller than the tart tin holes. Place one of each of these Ricciarelli toppings on to each mince pie and press lightly into place.
7. Place the tray in the oven. CAST IRON OVEN: on the grid shelf on the floor of the roasting oven or oven on R6. FAN OVEN: preheated to R6/180oC/350oF
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes for full sized mince pies and 10-15 minutes for mini mince pies. If browning too quickly shield with cold plain shelf (if provided) or cover with foil. Once baked, cool for a few minutes in the tin then remove and cool completely.
