Black Pudding and Apple Mince Pies

A week or so ago while having a mince pie with a cup of tea, I wondered what Mince Pies made with Black Pudding and Apple would taste like. The two flavours go well together and should marinate nicely with the other fruits in the pie mix.

I finally got around to making them and guess what? They really are delicious! So here is the recipe I developed for my Black Pudding and Apple Mince Pies. Go on, Give them a go...

I used 7cm wide top x 6 Muffin Tins, as you can see in the picture below, to make these pie. You can use whatever tins you have and adjust the size of the cutter accordingly.

Note: The filling is made the day before you are making your pies.

Filling Ingredients 
Makes 1kg filling (enough for 24 pies)

225g Eating apples, cored and diced small (no need to peel them)

150g Black Pudding, diced small the same size as the apples

2 tspn ground mixed spice

½ tspn ground cinnamon

35ml whiskey

115g shredded suet

375g dried mixed fruit

175g soft dark brown sugar

grated zest and juice 1 orange

grated zest and juice 1 lemon

Method:

1. Combine all the filling ingredients in a mixing bowl, stirring them together well. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge overnight to let the flavours amalgamate.

Sweet Pastry Ingredients 
Makes approx. 24

450g plain flour

300g cold butter, diced

50g icing sugar

2 medium eggs

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl, crumble the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the icing sugar and mix in together well.

2. Whisk the eggs in a cup and pour it in to the flour mix. Stir gently together and then using your hand pull the pastry together until it leaves the sides of the bowl clean.

3. Wrap the pastry in cling film and pop it into the fridge for 30 minutes.

To make the Black Pudding and Apple Mince Pies 

Pre-heat your fan oven to 200ºC

 1. Grease the tins with a little butter.

2. Cut the pastry in half if you need to because of rolling space, lightly dust the table with flour and roll it out as thinly as possible.

3. Using a 9cm cutter cut out your larger rounds and line the pie tins.

4. Gather up the pastry and gently bring it back together on dusted flour. Roll it out again and cut out the tops with a 7cm cutter.

5. Fill your pies with the cold filling up to the level of the top of the pastry.

6. Lightly dampen the rim of the pies with a little beaten egg and put the lids on, pressing gently around the edge to seal. Brush the top of each pie with a little beaten egg.

7. Make a little snip on top of each one with a pair of scissors to let the steam out.

8. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove to a wire tray and sprinkle with icing sugar.

Now, don't be thinking that these are just a gimmick for Christmas - these Black Pudding and Apple Mince Pies are actually delicious! Even the kids loved them and they didn't last very long, so I'm off now to make another batch! Enjoy!

Zack