Diary: 31 December 2015
We may be leaving 2015 behind but not before creating some new festive desserts.
Leftover Christmas mincemeat and chocolate truffles require some imagination to be turned into something else.
The thing is, and it’s embarrassing to admit, the mincemeat was from last year’s sale. Every year I tell myself that I must not buy mincemeat post-Christmas and every year there is one reduced by 75%. To commemorate the passing of this habit (I am definitely not buying reduced mincemeat again) here is a recipe for a giant mince pie for everyone who loves mince pies.
The mincemeat is encased in what is essentially a crumble mixture but for all intents and purposes, this tastes like a mince pie. This will serve 10 – 12 people normally but it will stretch to 16 after a large Christmas lunch.
For the Giant Mince Pie:
250 g self-raising flour
200 g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
50 g unrefined castor sugar
50 g skinned hazelnuts or almonds, toasted then roughly chopped
Grated zest of 2 oranges
800 g mincemeat
Créme fraîche or clotted cream, for serving
You will also need a 23 cm/ 9 inch cake tin with a removable base.
How to Make:
Preheat the oven to 190°C/ 375°F/ gas 5. Grease the base and side of the tin and line with baking parchment.
Place the flour and butter in a food processor and blend until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Alternatively, as in making scones, rub the butter into the flour with the tips of your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add the sugar, chopped nuts and orange zest. Give everything a good stir.
Tip just over half the mixture into the baking tin and press down lightly.
Pour the mincemeat into a large bowl and using a fork, loosen the mixture before spreading it on top of the crumble mixture.
Spread the remaining crumble mixture over the top of the mincemeat, making sure it covers the whole area.
Bake in the oven for 40 – 45 minutes or until the top is golden in colour.
Leave the tin to cool slightly before removing the pie. To do this, place a wide-rimmed glass (which has to be taller than the height of the tin) underneath the base of the tin. Push the top of tin down firmly. The base and pie will remain on top of the glass.
Place the pie on a plate to finish cooling. Serve with créme fraîche or clotted cream for an indulgent end to the meal.
The next thing we have leftover is a large cache of chocolate truffles. Quite possibly anyone reading this will be saying: Just give them to me…I know where to put them. However, I maintain that it’s better to freeze them to use as an added ingredient in a future cake, when you need to impress your friends and family.
The main components of chocolate truffles are chocolate, cream and butter, with alcohol and flavourings added. I figured that adding them to a chocolate cake batter wouldn’t do any harm. I made up this recipe on the spot and served it to our guests for lunch, and since no one left unhappy, I am sharing the recipe here.
The cake will serve 10 – 12 people normally but it will stretch to 16 after a large Christmas lunch. It tasted equally good the day after.
For the Chocolate Truffle Cake:
250 g slightly salted butter
250 g plain chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
150 – 180 g chocolate truffles (any flavour)
4 medium-sized eggs
200 g unrefined caster sugar
150 g ground almonds
You will also need a 23 cm/ 9 inch cake tin with a removable base.
How to Make:
Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F/ gas 4. Grease the base and side of the tin and line with baking parchment.
Place the butter and chocolate in a metal or glass bowl over a pot of gently simmering water. Stir with a metal spoon until melted. Remove the bowl and leave mixture to cool slightly.
Add the chocolate truffles to the chocolate mixture and gently stir until everything is mixed through.
Place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a free standing electric mixer. Using the balloon whisk attachment, whisk until the mixture has thickened and has the consistency of custard.
Pour in the chocolate then mix altogether using a plastic spatula.
Fold in the ground almonds.
Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin, and bake for 55 minutes.
Leave the tin to cool slightly before removing the cake. To do this, place a wide-rimmed glass (which has to be taller than the height of the tin) underneath the base of the tin. Push the top of tin down firmly. The base and cake will remain on top of the glass.
Place the cake on a plate to finish cooling. Serve with créme fraîche or clotted cream for an indulgent end to the meal.
