If you love chocolate and you love mince pies, these are perfect. They have a buttery, crisp, and flaky chocolate pastry fill with homemade chocolate studded mincemeat dusted with icing sugar. These mince pies are great warm from the oven or cold served with tea or as a dessert. To warm them back up, pop a mince pie in the oven for 5 minutes to allow the chocolate to melt again.
By Nourishing Amy
Chocolate Mince Pies
Prep Time: 1 hour plus cooling
Serves: 12-14 People
Ingredients
For the chocolate mincemeat:
1 + ⅛ cup of mixed dried fruits
⅛ cup vegan butter
½ large or 1 small apple, peeled, cored and chopped small
½ cup of orange juice
¼ cup of light brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
70g Dark Raspberry Chocolate, chopped small (about 1 bar)
For the chocolate pastry:
1 cup plain flour, plus extra
¼ cup icing sugar, plus extra
½ cup cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
½ cup vegan butter
2-3 tbsp cold water or plant-based milk, plus extra
Method
Step 1
Make the chocolate mincemeat: add the mixed fruits, butter, apple, orange juice, sugar and cinnamon to a saucepan and bring to the boil, allowing the butter to melt. Simmer over a medium-high heat, stirring often for 15-20 minutes or until most of the liquid has ben absorbed and the fruits are glossy. Allow to cool while you make the pastry.
Step 2
For the pastry: add the flour, icing sugar, cacao powder and salt to a blender and pulse to mix. Cube the butter and add to the blender and pulse to form a crumbly mix. Now gradually ad in 2 tbsp of cold water or plant-based milk to reach a sticky, smooth dough. Add more water/milk as needed.
Step 3
Tip out onto a surface and bring to a ball with your hands. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes in the fridge.
Step 4
When ready to make the mince pies, preheat the oven to 320*F and grease 12-14 cupcake holes.
Step 5
Stir the chopped chocolate into the mincemeat (it’s OK if it’s not cold, just cooler).
Step 6
Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the chocolate dough using parchment or more flour on top. Roll the dough to about ½ cm thickness. Cut out 12 or 14 bases and the same number of tops or stars to go on top. You will need to re-roll the pastry a few times to use it all up.
Step 7
Place the base pastry rounds in the tins, fill each with 1 tsp of the chocolate mincemeat, to the brim. Brush the edges with plant-based milk and secure the tops in place. Brush the tops with more milk.
Step 8
Bake for 25-28 minutes or until crisp on top and cooked through.
Step 9
Carefully remove from the tins and enjoy warm or cold with a dusting of icing sugar.
Step 10
Keep the mince pies at room temperature in a sealed container for 3-5 days. Any leftover mincemeat will keep for 5-7 days in the fridge in a sealed jar.
