RECIPE REVIEW - Paul Hollywood's Mince Pies

I can't feel truly Christmassy until I've eaten a mince pie. I'm one of those people who complains about seeing them in stores in September, but is inwardly delighted at the thought that mince pie season is fast approaching. I confess that I'm bit of a mince pie snob and won't willingly eat many of the shop-bought varieties (I hate the pastry lids, which I always find really dry). You can't beat a classic homemade mince pie, fresh and warm from the oven with a liberal dusting of icing sugar over the top.

If I've got a bit of time, then my favourite mince pie recipe to make is Mr Paul Hollywood's - he makes the most beautiful pastry! The recipe comes from the BBC GoodFood website (just here) and recommends that you need 45 minutes of prep time before these can go in the oven (inevitably I always take longer as I tend to faff around).

Rustic but unbeatable

Paul's recipe lists adding two chopped satsumas, a chopped apple and some lemon zest to your mincemeat before filling the pies. I've never tried adding the zest but I have made the addition of the satsuma and the apple in the past - however I wouldn't say it's completely necessary and they can easily be omitted. They do add a little extra something to the filling, but I think you'd be perfectly fine just buying a good-quality mincemeat (or using a homemade one).

What makes Paul's pies so delicious is his pastry - it's almost got a shortbread-like quality to it. Rather than the standard shortcrust pastry technique - half fat to flour - Paul uses extra butter which is no doubt responsible for the melt-in-the-mouth texture of this pastry. I would really recommend using proper butter, rather than a baking spread, for these. Addition of caster sugar adds a subtle sweetness and binding the pastry with egg, rather than milk or water, adds to the quality.

I never make any changes to the ingredient quantities in this recipe, however I do recommend chilling the pastry for longer than the 10 minutes listed (30 would be ideal). Because the pastry is so short, it's not easy to handle and does break and tear easily - you may find you need to press it into the tin in order to get it to hold together. However it also mustn't be handled too much or it won't taste nearly as good! I would also recommend chilling the pastry cases again before baking, if you have time.

Because of the pastry, these pies aren't the easiest or quickest to produce. You certainly need a lot of time and patience! You may also find that the pies are fairly fragile so perhaps not ideal if you plan to transport them somewhere. All that aside, the end result is definitely worth it as these pies are delicious. The pastry has a beautiful texture and provides a lovely sweet and buttery taste, complementing the mincemeat perfectly.
If you're looking for a mince pie recipe that can surpass anything bought in the shops, then this is the one to go to. They're not the easiest pies to make, but arguably they are the most delicious.