What is Christmas without a mince pie? The sweet, sticky, spicy filling surrounded with crisp pastry. Whether you make you own or buy them they are a must have for many of this season. I celebrate the first mince pie of the festive period and it signals that the preparations have started and celebrations are on their way. This year as well as the traditional pies I have made a twist with reverence to its history. I bring you Mince Pie Baklava, as well as tidings of comfort and joy.
The Mince Pie has its roots back in history. The ingredients can be traced back to the return of the Crusaders. They brought back, from the holy land, mixing meat with fruit. During the reign of the Tudors ‘Shrid Pies’ were filled with a combination of meat, dried fruit & suet. The spices of cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg were said to be representative of the gifts from the 3 wise men. Indeed traditionally in England the fashion was to make a larger pie in an oval shape to represent the manger, topped with a likeness of Jesus made from pastry.
Nowadays you can get all sorts of mince pies with any number of additions. Hence, of course, I decided to make a different version of my own. As a nod to the roots of middle-eastern cooking I have brought together mince pie with baklava. To make this recipe its is very easy, you may concoct your own mincemeat or buy your favourite jar. I tend to buy a large jar and doctor it up as needed.
For this recipe you need, butter, filo, mincemeat, pistachios (or any other nut would work), ground almonds, dried cranberries, sugar, water & orange peel. Once you arsenal is assembled it’s a case of melting a few things, stirring a few things and layering a few things. Really it is fairly simple but great to have tucked away, so you can whip them out as a speedy dessert or sweet bite with coffee.
Christmas is indeed a time when we go to the familiar, taking comfort in our traditions. However like to put a few spins on the traditional to bring something new to Christmas each year. This year it was the mince pie that got the treatment. I also gave the scone a festive spruce up with my Orange & Cranberry Scones. I have to say I really enjoy these and they are guaranteed to disappear in no time.
So a couple of tips to ensure Mince Pie Baklava success:
Don’t skip the orange peel
I added orange peel to the syrup and believe me that really helped offset the sweetness of this crispy treat. Without it you would end up with an overly sweet baklava.
If you think you’ve added enough butter add more.
This recipe loves butter. The pastry needs the butter to soften, without it you will end up with dry pastry that won’t hold together. Plus we know butter = flavour.
Let it sit
Once the syrup is absorbed and you have removed it from the oven let it sit in the tin, uncovered, for 4 hours. This will produce crispy top with yielding below.
You can reheat
If you want it warm reheat in the oven – never the microwave. Pastry and microwaves are not friends.
In the middle ages there was a custom that said if you ate a mince pie every day from Christmas until Twelfth Night you would have happiness for the next 12 months. This sounds like a custom that I’d like to see revived. If you try this Mince Pie Baklava let me know what you thought in the comments below. You can share your pictures with me on social media. Tag me on Instagram @cubbinthekitchen or use the hashtag #CUBBintheKitchen to be featured in my stories.
Mince Pie Baklava
Ingredients
- 411 grams Mincemeat 1 Jar
- 2 packs Filo Pastry
- 60 grams Shelled Pistachios
- 80 grams Ground Almonds
- 30 grams Dried Cranberries
- 130 grams Butter
- 150 grams Sugar
- 75 ml Water
- Peel of 1 Orange
Instructions
Make the Syrup
- Place the sugar and water in a pan and cook over a low heat until it has all dissolved. Add in the orange peel simmer until the syrup is has thickened. Don’t stir it. This should take about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Make the Baklava
- Preheat the oven to 160°C Fan
- Chop the Pistachios into small pieces. Add these to the mincemeat along with the Ground Almonds and dried Cranberries. Give it all a good stir to combine.
- Melt the butter in a small pan.
- Trim the filo pastry to the same size as the tin you are cooking it in. Cover with a damp tea towel to stop it frying out. Leave this over the filo pile as you work.
- Brush the bottom and sides of the tin with melted butter. I used a 20cm x 20 cm square tin. Place a sheet of filo in the bottom it should fit perfectly. Press it down and brush all over with butter.Repeat this step with 10 sheets.
- Once you have ten sheets that have each been brushed with butter and layered. Spread over the mincemeat mixture into and even layer.
- Crown this with the remaining pastry sheets brushing each sheet with butter. With the final layer be generous with the butter.Cut diagonal lines across the baklava to create a diamond pattern.
- Bake for 70 mins until it has turned golden.
- Take the peel out of the syrup and discard.Remove the golden Baklava from the oven and pour over the syrup. Return to the oven for about 5 minutes until the syrup has been completely absorbed.Leave to cool and stand for 4 hours. Then cut along the diamond pattern and enjoy.Merry Christmas
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