Mince Pie Dessert
This light, Christmas dessert has a mince pie base, a panna cotta-like creamy filling, with a hint of orange and a sprinkling of crumbled mince pies running through it.
Special Equipment
- 8 inch baking tin
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST
- 5 shortcrust mince pies
- 40 g unsalted butter
FOR THE FILLING
- 397 g can condensed milk
- 100 ml cold water
- 3 tsps gelatine powder, unflavoured (most of 1 sachet)
- 1 orange, juiced & sieved
- 300 ml whipping cream
- 2 tablespoon caster sugar
- 2 mince pies
TO DECORATE (optional)
- 1 mince pie
- 1 pack rosemary
- A little icing sugar
Instructions
THE CRUST
- Preheat the oven to 180º/160ºc fan/350ºf/gas 4 and grease an 20cm/8inch round springform baking tin and line the bottom.
- Add 5 mince pies to your food processor and whizz on high until you have a dough like consistency.
- Melt the butter in the microwave for around 30 secs and stir until fully melted. Add to the food processor and blend again to combine. Add the mince pie mixture to the baking tin, levelling it out to cover the bottom as evenly as possible with a spatula. Keep the crumb below the tin base rim, you can run the tip of the spatula round it. Use a fork to pierce the base several times.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for 12 minutes, or until the edges are going golden brown and the middle no longer looks wet. Set aside until cooled down, at least an hour. Then transfer to the fridge to chill further while you start making your filling.
THE FILLING
- Add the condensed milk and the orange juice to a medium-large mixing bowl and stir briskly with a balloon hand-whisk until well combined.
- Add the water to a bowl and add in the gelatine. Leave for 2 minutes. Then microwave for 20 seconds. Remove and stir briskly until all the gelatine has dissolved. Leave it to cool slightly, for about 10 minutes, being careful not to let it get too cool and set.
- In the meantime, put the 3 remaining mince pies (2 for filling + 1 for decoration) into a food bag and crush briefly with a food mallet or rolling pin.
- Then in another medium-large mixing bowl, whisk the cream on medium speed for about 1 minute. Then add in the sugar while whisking, one tablespoon at a time. Add in the cooled gelatine, still while whisking, then turn to high and continue to whisk until the mixture thickens and the beginning of stiff peaks form.
- Add in the condensed milk mixture, and whisk on low until just combined.
- Then using your fingers, crumble in about ⅔’s of the crushed mince pies, making sure to not add in big clumps. Fold in briefly with a large metal spoon.
- Carefully pour the filling onto the mince pie base in the baking tin, then give it a gentle shake to level out. Cover the tin with clingfilm and transfer to the fridge for at least 5 hours, ideally overnight.
REMOVING THE TIN
- Because you can’t cover the dessert without it being in the tin (covering it with clingfilm directly will run the look of the top), I recommend you leave it in the tin until nearing time to serve it. Then to remove it from the tin, run a sharp knife round the edge before releasing the cake tin side, slowly. You can leave the dessert on the tin base to serve, or use a long knife and a cake lifter to lift the dessert onto a cake stand or plate. Carefully slide in the knife in between the dessert base and the cake tin liner. Use the knife to then help you slide in the cake lifter a little, then slide the knife out and carefully slide the cake lifter all the way under the base and lift it off.
TO DECORATE (optional)
- Use your fingers to further crumble the remaining crushed mince pie around the edge of the dessert. Then, using food scissors, snip some of the rosemary sprigs into two size pieces 1) the very tip of the sprigs under the first leaves, and 2) pieces that are a little longer, under 2 tiers of leaves. You will need about 6 of each. Then take a small sieve or tea strainer and dust them with icing sugar. Place the larger rosemary sprigs on top of the crumb edge, evenly spaced. Then add the smaller sprigs in between. See video & pictures for guidance.
Notes
Buy 2 packs of 6 mince pies, although you’ll only need to use 8.
STORAGE
Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days (make day + 2).
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