Filo pastry and nougat mince pies
Crisp filo pastry encases zesty amaretto and nougat-studded mincemeat, making these mince pies the most luxurious Christmas treat
- Serves: 12 persons
Ingredients
- 50g salted butter, melted and cooled
- ½tsp ground cinnamon
- 1pinch of nutmeg
- 2cardamom pods, crushed and husks removed
- 70g filo pastry sheets, thawed if frozen
- 450g mincemeat
- 1tbsp amaretto
- 1orange, zested
- 70g nougat, chopped into chunks
- icing sugar, to serve
Instructions
Step 1
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Begin by mixing the melted butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom, then lightly buttering a 12-hole cupcake tin with some of the spiced butter.Step 2
Mix the mincemeat, amaretto and orange zest with the nougat chunks.Step 3
Slice the filo pastry into squares a little larger than the size of the cupcake tin holes – ours were around 7.5cm by 7.5cm. If you get some irregular pieces, that’s fine, they can all be used.Step 4
You will need three squares of filo for each tin hole. Lay the first of the pastry squares into the cupcake tin, brushing a layer of the spiced butter on top. Add the next filo square on top and butter that one, too. Repeat with the third, turning each square slightly so they layer over each other in a star shape. Gently push them in so they adhere to the tin well. If you have some uneven shapes, you can lay them over each other to fit the tin.Step 5
Fill each pastry-lined hole with 11⁄2 tbsp of mincemeat, then bake in the oven for 15-20 mins or until golden and bubbling.Step 6
Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 mins before carefully prying out the pies with a palette knife. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar before serving.