With Christmas around the corner, people across the country are tucking into their mince pies - including the Queen, it would seem.
Buckingham Palace's top pastry chef has now revealed the secret recipe behind the baked treat enjoyed by the royal family and their guests.
Royal chef Kathryn Cuthbertson explained how their mincemeat, which includes golden sultanas, currants and russet apples, is made months in advance.
Buckingham Palace's pastry chef has revealed the secret recipe behind the mince pies enjoyed by the royal family (pictured)
Along with a traditional recipe, a smaller version is topped with flaked almonds for 'texture', while another is made out of puff pastry.
Kathryn revealed how they make over 1,200 mince pies for each Christmas reception at Buckingham Palace.
- First sketches of Meghan Markle's potential wedding dress!... Will Charlotte be a cygnet, swift or swan? How pupils at the...
She said: 'It's probably thousands each, but as long as you are organised, it's doable.'
Sharing her top tips for making mince pies, Kathryn stressed the importance of having 'plenty of time', along with 'cold hands'.
Traditional mince pie recipe
Ingredients
For the Mincemeat
zest and some juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
zest and some juice of 1 unwaxed orange
2 tablespoons brandy
1 tablespoon of port
1 tablespoon of rum
1 tablespoon of sherry 120g (1 cup) suet
160g (3/4 cup) golden sultanas
100g (1/2 cup) raisins
100g (1/2 cup) mixed peel
100g (1/2 cup) currants
1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1.2 teaspoon ground cloves
160g (6oz) russet apples, peeled and grated
500g (1lb 2 oz) sweet pastry
Egg wash for sticking lids on the bases
Granulated sugar for the top of the mince pies before baking
Icing sugar for dusting
The filling of the mince pie includes golden sultanas, raisins and russet apples
Equipment
12 hole non-stick shallow baking tray / mince pie tin 32 x 24 cm (12.5 x 9")
fluted or plain cutters
Method
Place all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir. Then add all the liquid and grated apple and allow to soak for at least one week in a 1kg kilner jar sat in the fridge or pantry.
Preheat the oven to 190° C (375° F, gas mark 5)
Roll the sweet pastry into a sheet approximately 2 to 3 mm thick, place on a tray, and allow to rest in the fridge. Once rested, cut tops and bottoms for your mince pies using fluted or plain cutters (selecting sizes to fit your tin). Place the pie bases into the tin and prick them with a small knife or fork to prevent the pastry from rising during the baking.
Spoon a teaspoon of the home-made mincemeat into the base and egg wash the edge of the pastry to enable the lids to stick. Place the mince pies in the fridge to rest for another 30 minutes, then add a pastry top to each, egg washing it and pricking a small hole in the top to allow the steam to escape. Sprinkle with granulated sugar.
Place the baking tray on the middle shelf of the preheated oven and bake the pies for about 15 minutes, or until the pastry turns golden and the mincemeat starts to boil slightly. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before taking the pies out of their tin.
Sprinkle the mince pies with icing sugar and serve immediately. To add a festive feel, the mince pie tops could be shaped with a star cutter or perhaps a holly-shaped cutter.
<!- - ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/gb/femail/food/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 - ->
Advertisem*nt
Other festive treats served up at royal receptions include gingerbread men, Jammy Dodgers and mini chocolate roulades.
It comes after it was revealed that the Queen and Prince Philip give their 1,500 staff a rather surprising gift at Christmas.
The official website of the royal family reveals that Her Majesty gifts a Christmas pudding to each and every member of her staff.
The Queen's pastry chef revealed that 1,200 mince pies for each at Buckingham Palace
Kathryn said they also make a smaller version (left), that is topped for almonds for 'texture'
The tradition was handed down by her father, King George VI and her grandfather, George V.
In previous years, the Queen is reported to have favoured puddings from Harrods or Fortnum & Mason - which holds a warrant as the royal grocer - but appears to have since swapped to a rather more ordinary retailer.
According to Hello!, the monarch opts for Tesco's Finest Matured Christmas Pudding, having switched to the budget option in order to cut costs.
FAQs
Mince pies, at Christmas time, were traditionally shaped in an oblong shape, to resemble a manger and were often topped with a depiction of the Christ Child. The early mince pie was known by several names, including "mutton pie", "shrid pie" and "Christmas pie".
What ingredients are in a minced pie? ›
Mincemeat is a mixture of chopped dried fruit, distilled spirits and spices, and often beef suet, usually used as a pie or pastry filling. Mincemeat formerly contained meat, notably beef or venison. Many modern recipes replace the suet with vegetable shortening.
WikipediaMany believe the idea for the mince pie originated with Middle Eastern cuisine in the 12th century, when spices and fruit were often used in savory and sweet meat dishes. Before refrigeration, spices and sugars were used for preservation to slow down spoilage.
What was the original mincemeat pie made of? ›
The reason mincemeat is called meat is because that's exactly what it used to be: most often mutton, but also beef, rabbit, pork or game. Mince pies were first served in the early middle ages, and the pies were quite sizeable, filled with a mixture of finely minced meat, chopped up fruit and a preserving liquid.
What did mince pies used to be called? ›
Mince pies were always a festive pie and eaten around Christmas time. Other names for mince pies include 'mutton pie', 'shrid pie' and 'Christmas pie. ' What has changed dramatically is the mince pie recipe, having begun as savoury pies filled with minced meat, suet, dried fruits, spices cloves and nutmeg.
What is the meat in mince pie? ›
Nowadays, it's easy to find mincemeat pies still made with beef suet and a small amount of minced meats (usually beef). All-vegetarian mincemeat pies are readily available as well, especially if you purchase a premade jar of mincemeat filling.
Should mincemeat pie be served hot or cold? ›
Serving to Impress
Many people enjoy mincemeat pie served warm, but it can also be served cold. The recipe below features both mini pies or you can make two nine-inch pies. You can pair mincemeat pie with ice cream, custard, or low-fat Greek yogurt for a sweet treat that's sure to impress!
What pastry is mince pies made from? ›
One bite of a home-made shortcrust pastry mince pie and you'll never want to buy them again. Now you've nailed the pastry, put it to good use with one of our mince pie recipes including date and apple, brownie and frangipane versions.
Why is mincemeat so expensive? ›
Mincemeat isn't difficult to make, but it has a lot of ingredients, which can make it expensive to produce in small batches, and it requires at least a day's advance planning to let the ingredients sit.
Why do people eat mincemeat pie at Christmas? ›
However, the mince pie was originally a savoury pie – and not even round! In the Tudor period they were rectangular, shaped like a manger and often had a pastry baby Jesus on the lid. They were made from 13 ingredients to represent Jesus and his disciples and were all symbolic to the Christmas story.
According to reports, medieval people believed that if you ate a mince pie every day between Christmas and Twelfth Night, you'd be brimming with luck and happiness for the next 12 months. While there may not be any truth in the old myth, the tradition of eating mince pies every Christmas has certainly stuck.
Why do mince pies have no meat? ›
By the 18th century cheaper cuts of meat such as tongue and tripe replaced the traditional mutton, pork, or beef, and around the middle of the century an even more important change occurred, the transformation of mince pies from a savoury to a sweet dish.
Who eats mincemeat pie? ›
“A mince pie is a sweet pie of British origin, filled with a mixture of dried fruits and spices called "mincemeat", that is traditionally served during the Christmas season in much of the English-speaking world (Wikipedia).
What do Americans call mincemeat? ›
In American English, "mincemeat" is a sweet pie filling (I think it's mince pie in BrE) which originally contained some meat but in modern times it is generally made mostly of apples and raisins.
What is the significance of mince pies at Christmas? ›
To show off their money, the rich would offer pies in various shapes, such as crescents and hearts, to show off their wealth. They became a popular treat around the festive period thanks to a tradition from the middle ages, which saw people eat a mince pie for 12 days from Christmas day to Twelfth Night.
What do mince pies represent at Christmas? ›
However, the mince pie was originally a savoury pie – and not even round! In the Tudor period they were rectangular, shaped like a manger and often had a pastry baby Jesus on the lid. They were made from 13 ingredients to represent Jesus and his disciples and were all symbolic to the Christmas story.
Why do we eat mince pies on Christmas? ›
Mince pies were originally made to celebrate Jesus. They were oblong in shape to represent the manger that Jesus slept in as a baby and have a 'pastry baby Jesus' carved into the pastry. Traditionally one mince pie is eaten for the Twelve days of Christmas.
