Feathers & Figs: 'Tis the Season!

“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!”

― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Believe it or not, it's that time of year again! Working in a cafe, I have witnessed first hand the way in which shops are suddenly become full of decorations, carols and an inexplicable increase in the level of crazy-eyes, distressed looking shoppers clamouring for the perfect gift.

I can do without the stress.

That's why every year I love to make homemade food gifts for my family. No, not the stingy kind! More like the "I-actually-thought-you-might-enjoy-this-rather-than-some-useless-thing-you-don't-actually-need" kind.

Once I have my ingredients I can get home, crank up the music and dance my way around the kitchen knowing I am giving my loved ones something they will love and which can't be bought in any store!

For my family I usually put together a whole assortment of jams, chutneys, sauces, spice rubs etc. but for my friends, who have more of a sweet tooth (and less diabetes!), I usually put together plates full of biscuits, truffles, puddings and all other forms of sugary Christmas goodness!

Hey, it only comes once a year right?

Amongst that collection of goodies I love to throw in a batch of fresh fruit mince pies. I have one particular English friend who I make these for every year and her hubby loves them! Glowing reviews from an Englishman? Doesn't get much better than that!

These tarts not only make the perfect gift but can also be whipped up in on time for the yearly Christmas party or simply to wolf down with a cup of tea, whatever you fancy!

Give them a go yourself and sound of in the comments below with your thoughts!

Fruit Mince Pies

Makes about 10

For the Pastry:

1 1/4 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp custard powder
2 tbsp icing sugar
80g butter, cubed
1 egg, separated
2 tbsp chilled water

For the Fruit Mince Filling:

**Note: I quite like this recipe which comes from Gourmet Traveller but if you don't have the time to make a proper filling you can simply use a 410g jar of store-bought fruit mince (I promise I won't tell!)

280g brown sugar
200g raisins
2 Granny Smith apples, coarsely grated
100g butter, melted
100ml muscat
100g each of currants and dried sour cherries
100g each of glace figs and fresh dates, finely chopped
70g candied orange peel, finely chopped
40g cedro (or candied lemon rind), finely chopped
Finely grated rind and juice of 1 orange
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp each of grated nutmeg, ground cloves and ground ginger

If you are making your own fruit mince: combine all ingredients in a sterilised contained and refrigerate for between 24hrs to 8 weeks (the longer you leave it to sit the stronger the flavours will be).

To make the pastry by placing the flour, baking powder, custard powder and icing sugar in a food processor and blend to combine. Add the cubed butter and process again until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.

Add the egg yolk (save the white for later!) and the chilled water and process until the mixture starts to come together as a dough. Remove from the processor and knead the mixture on a floured bench until you have a smooth dough.

Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes or until chilled. When it is ready, unwrap the dough and place it in between two sheets of baking paper then roll it out to about 4mm thick.

Use a circular cutter to cut 10cm circles from the dough and line 10 individual tart tins with the pastry (or cut the pastry to fit whatever sized tart cases you have on hand). Re-roll your leftover dough and cut out stars (or whatever shape you want to sit atop your tarts).

Fill your pastry cases about 3/4 of the way with fruit mince and then place your star cutout on top. Lightly brush with your leftover egg white and bake at 160 degrees Celsius for 20min or until the pastry is lightly golden.