Recipe corner: Mince pie brownies

Mince pies and a filthy imposter!

As I mentioned in my last post, my team at work had a mince pie bake off recently.  I toyed with a number of ideas, including a delicious sounding Mary Berry recipe for mincemeat topped with frangipane, but ultimately decided to veer off in an entirely different direction, a decision which may or may not have been slightly motivated by my fear of pastry.

I don't know what the issue is; when I've attempted pastry it has always worked perfectly well.  But, in my head, it is something that I Can't Do.  I used to feel the same about bread and I got over that, so perhaps 2019 should be the year that I take on pastry.  Although 2019 is also supposed to be the year that I finally lose a few stone and emerge from a chrysalis of podge like a beautiful, middle-aged butterfly.  The two things are not particularly compatible.

Anyway!  Mince pie brownies.  Good Food magazine have a recipe for this online wherein they recommend inserting actual mince pies.  I thought you'd get a better flavour if you stirred the mincemeat itself straight through.  And for a bit of crunch, I chopped up some shortbread biscuits (working on the basis that most people will have shortbread lurking around the house at Christmas) and bunged those in too.  Delightful.

The basic brownie recipe is based on my go-to which is from the Hummingbird Bakery book.  I have never been to the Hummingbird Bakery but I commend their brownie skills.  I've reduced the sugar for this batch, on the basis that the mincemeat will be pretty sweet and I don't want the whole lot to end up sickly.  Spoiler alert: they did not.

Additional spoiler alert: these did not win the bake off because they were not enough of a mince pie.  Pah.  I think they're rather delicious anyway.

Ingredients

200g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
175g unsalted butter, chopped

210g caster sugar

110g plain flour
15g cocoa
Tsp ground cinnamon

3 eggs

Half a jar of mincemeat
4 shortbread finger biscuits, roughly chopped

Makes around 16 - 20 brownies

It might take a few bowls here, but I’d recommend getting everything weighed and ready to go before you start which then makes this the easiest job in the world.

Preheat the oven to 170 (160 fan) and grease and line a square tin.

Chocolate pieces and butter in one, microwave proof, bowl.

Sugar weighed out in another bowl.

Flour, cocoa and cinnamon in a third.

Mincemeat in a small pan.  Set over a really low heat.  You want to melt the suet and make the whole thing slightly more liquid which means it will distribute evenly through the batter.

Microwave the chocolate and butter on a medium heat for around five minutes or until melted and glossy.  I find this easier than setting up a bowl over boiling water.  You need to take it out and swirl it around every so often to prevent it from overheating, but as long as you set the temperature to medium-low (about 50% on my model) it should be fine.

Add the sugar and stir well until incorporated.  I find that this works best if I add it in about three lots, stirring well after each time.  Then sift in the flour / cocoa / spice combo and stir well again.


Break the eggs into one of the bowls you used for the dry ingredients and lightly whisk before adding to the batter.  Again, I find that it incorporates best if you do it in about three goes, briskly stirring after each addition.

By now, the mincemeat should be nice and melty (a technical term!) so remove from the heat and allow to cool very slightly while you fold the shortbread pieces through the mix.  Finally, stir through the mincemeat. 

Transfer the lot to the prepared tin and bake in the oven for around 30 minutes (actually, they took 20 in my oven but it is a BEAST).  

The brownies are ready when they have a shiny crust and the underneath quivers very slightly when you remove them from the oven.  Alternatively, stick a skewer (or a piece of spaghetti – my implement of choice) into the cake.  The brownies are done when it emerges with a few scant crumbs clinging to it.  There’s a really good visual of what I mean here. 


I defy anyone, mince pie hater or not, to dislike these.  The combination of boozy fruit and chocolate is, to my mind, absolutely irresistible.  Merry Christmas all!