Hello all! Its been a while since I have posted but its been crazy busy with a new job and home renovations all the same time. Now that's all over and I can finally use my kitchen again, I have been baking on over drive!
Every year millions of mince pies are baked and eaten all over Britain! And of course your grandma's mince pie recipe is probably the best!! But if you are looking to try something new, there are hundreds of recipes out there. So I thought I would try out recipes by three well known chefs and rate them on time, skill level, cost and of course, taste! I had my friends and collegaues taste each mince pie and rate them. Here is how it went!
The first recipe I tried was by Paul Hollywood and you can find the recipe here. The recipe is simple, quick and inexpensive. What I did find is that the apples and tangerines do release a fair bit of liquid which leads to a soggy bottom (heaven forbid!). So *recipe modification alert*!! I added some breadcrumbs to the filling which makes the filling go further so that's a bonus!
Now for the ratings:
Time: pretty quick actually (and I rested the pastry at each step even though the recipe doesn't require you to). 4/5
Skill level: As long as you know how to turn on the oven you should be able to make this. 5/5
Cost: Cheap as chips. Christmas is an expensive time so its nice not to spend a fortune on mince pies. 5/5
Taste: This is obviously the most important bit. Comments were - "well balanced", "not too sweet", "orangey and christmasy". 4/5
The next recipe was Nigella Lawson's which is available here. It requires a couple more ingredients than the others. My main problem with this recipe is the pastry - I have always been taught to keep the liquid in shortcrust pastry to a minimum and to work the dough as little as possible. This recipe tells you to do both (wonder how Mr. Hollywood feels about that!). I am never a fan of putting so much liquid into shortcrust pastry and predictably the pastry shrunk to almost nothing leaving the filling to go everywhere. I think instead of OJ, you might get more flavour with orange zest and/or orange essence.
Try it and let me know if you have better luck!
Time: Takes a bit of time as you need to chill everything. 3/5
Skill level: Now I bake a fair bit and I can (on most days) tackle French patisserie but this pastry drove me mad!!! Tacky and sticky and a nightmare to cut out. The orangey flavour also didn't really come through in the pastry after all that. 3/5
Cost: Still not an expensive recipe but compared to the other recipes, it needed more ingredients. 4/5
Taste: All important taste - Comments were - "its nice". 3/5
Now for Mary Berry's recipe which is available here. I really liked this one. It's quicker than Paul Hollywood's recipe because you don't need to cut out the top of the pies. I made one batch without modification and with a slight tweak to batch number 2 - I added a pinch of salt to the filling. It really lifted the taste and it wasn't as sweet!
Time: Pretty quick - I made these in under an hour. 5/5
Skill level: Very basic. Much like Paul Hollywood's recipe - just remember to turn on the oven. 5/5
Cost: Cheap and cheerful. 5/5
Taste: The marzipan really ups the game! Comments were: "its moorish", "better than the other two", "unexpected twist with the marzipan", "best mince pie I have ever had (he was being polite, I think)". 5/5.
I would love to hear your thoughts!!
Have a Happy Happy Christmas all!!
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