We are not huge fruit mince, fruit cake or Christmas pudding fans in our household. Sadly I had my fill of it when I was a child. The last couple of years I’ve been trying a few different mince pies from various retailers though, and some were quite pleasant. This year I decided to make my own fruit mince, with flavours that I love, in an effort to convert myself. These Cherry, Cranberry & Apple Fruit Mince Pies are a triumph. My favourite fruits, with an optional boozy twist and my favourite sweet shortcrust pastry. Yum!
The only drawback in the process was sourcing the dried fruit I wanted to use. There wasn’t a single retailer who stocked them all, so I had to shop around. But boy was it worth it. This combination is really great. I don’t know if many people bother with making their own mince pies, and especially the fruit mince, since it’s much easier to purchase it pre-made. But if you’re up for it this Cherry, Cranberry & Apple Fruit Mince is definitely worth it.
For those local followers who aren’t sure where to buy the more difficult to source dried fruit, feel free to pop a message in the comments or DM me on social media and I’ll be more than happy to share where I bought mine.
This fruit mince includes, dried sour cherries, dried cranberries, dried and fresh apple, dried plums, dried figs, raisins, mandarin zest and juice, spices, cherry and plum jam and finally, cherry liqueur. Although it’s quite ingredient heavy, you don’t need much of each and this is honestly the quickest recipe to make. Chop, combine, simmer for 30 minutes, blitz and store in a jar. That’s it. The hardest part to this recipe is the shopping.
This fruit mince recipe makes enough to make between 3 – 6 batches depending on the size of your pies. It stores really great in the fridge too. Feel free to halve the recipe if you don’t want as much.
I have included my pastry recipe, which, depending on the size of your chosen pies, should give you between 12 and 24 mince pies depending on the size you make. These are great for preparing in advance too as they freeze really well. Just pop them in the oven to warm through when you want to serve them.
Cherry, Cranberry & Apple Fruit Mince Pies
Ingredients
Cherry, Cranberry & Apple Fruit Mince
- ½ Cup Dried Sour Cherries
- ½ Cup Dried Cranberries
- ½ Cup Dried Apples
- ¼ Cup Raisins
- ¼ Cup Dried Plums
- ¼ Cup Dried Figs
- Zest of two Mandarins
- ¼ Cup Mandarin Juice
- 2 Medium Apples, grated
- ½ Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Ground Allspice
- ¼ Cup Cherry Jam
- ¼ Cup Plum Jam
- ½ Cup Cherry Liqueur* Optional
- ¼ Cup Water
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
- ½ Cup Unsalted Butter Softened to room temperature
- ½ Cup Icing/Powdered Sugar
- 1 Large Egg
- ½ Cup Ground Almonds / Almond Flour
- 1½ Cups All-Purpose/Cake Flour
- Pinch of salt
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Zest
Instructions
Cherry, Cranberry & Apple Fruit Mince
- Finely chop all the dried fruit or process in a food processor. Set aside. Then zest and juice the mandarins and grate the apples
- Place all the ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for around 30 minutes until the liquid has reduced and the fruit has softened
- Using a stick blender or larger blender, roughly pulse the mixtures to break up any larger pieces but leaving some texture
- Pack into a jar(s) with tight fitting lid. Do not cover yet but let it cool to room temperature. Once cooled, place the lid on and store in the fridge until needed
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
- Place the softened butter in a mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the icing/powdered sugar and mix together until smooth and creamy
- Next add the egg, ground almonds / almond flour to the sugar and butter and mix until well combined. Sift in the flour and salt and finally add the zest and mix until incorporated
- Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface, bring together as a smooth dough ball, then cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for around 30 minutes to chill
- Preheat the oven to 160°C
- When the dough has chilled, divide the dough in ⅔ and ⅓. Keep the ⅓ covered and chilled for the lids while you prepare the bottoms
- Place the ⅔ of the dough on a lightly floured surface again and roll out evenly. Use an appropriately sized cookie cutter or glass to cut rounds a little bigger than the holes in your muffin tin. Then place each piece in one of the holes. Using your finger or a spoon, shape the dough to have a nice even crust on the bottom and sides, leaving enough room to fill with the fruit mince. The dough is soft and might break when moving so fix any cracks and trim off any extra
- When you have created all your bottom crusts, place the tin in the freezer for a few minutes while cutting out your lids
- Place the reserved ⅓ of your dough onto a floured surface and roll out to an even layer. Here you can either cut out different shapes with cookie cutters or plain circles as lids
- When your lids are ready, remove the tin from the freezer and fill each hole with fruit mince. Ensure they are well filled but don't overflow. Place each lid on top (If using plain circles, ensure that you make a small hole in the centre of the lid for the steam to escape while baking)
- With a pastry brush, give each lid a light egg wash (one egg beaten with a dash of milk)
- Then place in the oven to bake for around 30 – 35 minutes, until golden (the baking time will depend on the size of your pies so keep an eye)
- Let cool in the tin for around 15 minutes, then carefully remove and place on a wire cooling rack to cool further
- Sprinkle with icing sugar before serving
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