A member off the Greenlife staff, Teri, agreed to let us share this recipe after her Frangipane Mince Pies became such a sensational hit in our staff room! If you are a fan of Bakewell tart you are sure to love them.
These delicious melt in your mouth mince pies are quick and very easy to make too – if you cheat and buy your vegan shortcrust pastry and mincemeat readymade that is!
If you are making your own mincemeat at home, we have all the dried fruit and vegan suet you need to make that in store too, but this recipe is the minimum effort version…you can top them with flaked almonds if you want them to look a little more sophisticated, but the pictures show them without.
Ingredients
1 x 500g block vegan short crust pastry
2 x 12 tartlet trays plus a biscuit cutter
For the filling (makes 24):
Approximately 200g Meridian Organic Mince Pie Filling (or alternative vegan mincemeat)
100ml Oggs Egg Alternative (aquafaba)
90g caster sugar
90g Naturli Organic Vegan Block, melted (or your favourite plant based butter alternative).
90g ground almonds
2 tablespoons rice flour
4 tablespoons flaked almonds (optional)
Method
1. Divide your pastry block into two. Roll out one half and stamp out 12 circles slightly larger than the tart indentations of your tartlet tray. Press these into the tray gently, carefully patting the base and sides, and then put it into the fridge for 15 minutes. Repeat for the second tray.
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6.
3. Grab your tartlet trays from the fridge. Put a scant teaspoon of mincemeat into each pastry-lined cavity.
4. Melt the Vegan Block. In a bowl, beat the Oggs Egg Alternative (aquafaba) together with the caster sugar (you can substitute one tablespoon of the caster sugar with a spoon of muscovado sugar if you want them to brown a little more). Still beating, pour in the melted Vegan Block. Stir in the ground almonds and 2 tbsp rice flour. Dollop a tablespoon of this mixture on top of the mincemeat in each pie.
5. Sprinkle with flaked almonds (optional). Put in the oven and cook for 15 minutes or until the pastry is cooked through and the frangipane topping is a light golden colour.
6. Take out of the oven and leave to cool in the tins for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool (if you can resist eating them all while they are still warm!). Dust with icing sugar.
