Mary Berry’s Christmassy Mincemeat Buns! [How to Make]

 

Date: 24/11/12

Background: Ever since Stacey bought me Mary Berry’s Complete Cookbook, I have had a hankering to make something from within it’s glistening shimmering colourful pages. So with the Christmas Spirit ebbing towards us like a cheerful festive fog, I decided to make Mincemeat Buns, a recipe encompassing that Crimbo-In-A-Jar wonder, mincemeat, if you hadn’t already guessed.

What: Mincemeat Buns

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Ingredients:

• 375g (12oz) Mincemeat
• 250g (8oz) Currants (I used mixed fruit)
• 2 eggs
• 150g (5oz) Caster Sugar
• 150g (5oz) Soft Butter or Margarine
• 250g (8oz) Self Raising Flour
• 32 cake cases (Or in my video, 12 silicone cake cases and a sandwich tin!)

Method:

1. Measure out all the ingredients into one bowl
2. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and beat well for about 2 minutes
3. Divide the cake mixture evenly among the cake cases. putting them in bun tins if preferred
4. Bake in the pre heated oven for 20-30mins or until golden and springy to the touch
5. Transfer the cakes to a wire rack and leave to cool

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Video: Once again courtesy of the wonderful StaceyRaver’s Youtube

What was Good: OMG the smell! It filled the house with a spicy, mince pie like, winter-y aroma! It literally filled the very bricks of my home with Festive cheer! The cakes themselves are sweet and dense. Dense does not sound very attractive, but trust me, when you expect to devour a light fluffy fairy cake, and the weighty fruit and flavour filled nommable fills your hand, it is a happy moment. The cake itself is packed with so much fruit that it adds a real moist chew with every bite. For those that don’t like mincemeat, Stacey being a prime example, TRUST ME, it is nothing like eating a mince pie! The flavour is aromatic and intense, but the actual flavour of mincemeat is very subtle. Even Stacey is a convert now!

What was Bad: We both felt it lacked a variety of texture or flavour… So we were considering making an icing sugary cinnamony dust for the top? Or even a liquid fondant icing. What do you think? But all in all… Loved these buns of steel!

Would I Make It Again: YES!

Waffle-O-Meter:

 

Reference:

Berry, M (2012) Mary Berry’s Complete Cookbook. 3rd ed. London: Covent Garden Books. P465