Mince pies with ginger streusel topping

PREPARATION TIME 30 minutes COOKING TIME 20 minutes SERVES 12 INGREDIENTS

For the pastry

● 175g plain flour ● 70g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed ● 25g icing sugar, plus extra for rolling and dusting ● 2 clementines, zested

● 1 egg, beaten

For the mincemeat

● 250g best quality mincemeat ● 2 balls Opies Stem Ginger with Syrup, finely chopped ● 50g dried cranberries ● 1 tbsp brandy, optional

For the streusel topping

● 150g plain flour ● 50g caster sugar ● 135g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed ● 75g Opies Crystallised Stem Ginger, finely chopped

● 50g walnuts, finely chopped ● icing sugar, for dusting

METHOD

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas Mark 6. 2 Whizz the flour and butter in a food processor until it resembles breadcrumbs. Or, rub together in a large mixing bowl using your fingertips.

3 Stir in the icing sugar, clementine zest and egg then bring together until it forms a dough. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and cut out 12 circles using a cookie cutter. Line the holes of a muffin tray with the pastry cases then prick the bases with a fork.

4 Mix the mincemeat ingredients together in a bowl then divide equally between the pastry cases.

5 For the streusel, add the flour, sugar and butter to a separate bowl and use your fingertips to rub the mixture until crumbly. Stir in the crystallised stem ginger and walnuts, then scatter the streusel generously over the mincemeat.

6 Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm or cold with cream.