Frangipane Mince Pies

Prepping

1. Begin by adding the brandy or your preferred alcohol to the mincemeat, and give it a good stir to mix it in thoroughly. Set aside. If you are not adding alcohol you can skip this step.

Make the pastry

1. In a food processor, combine the plain flour, icing sugar and cold, cubed butter. Process until the mixture resembles a slightly sandy texture with the butter well incorporated into the flour.
2. Add the egg yolk and process again.
3. Add one tablespoon of cold water and process. If necessary, add the second tablespoon of cold water and continue processing until the pastry dough comes together into a ball inside the food processor bowl. You may not need both tablespoons of water, so stop as soon as the ball forms.
4. Place the pastry dough on a piece of cling film and flatten it into a disk. Wrap it securely and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.

Make the frangipane topping

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the softened butter and golden caster sugar. Beat until the mixture becomes light and creamy. It may take up to 5 minutes of beating to get the optimum light and airy consistency.
2. Add the two room-temperature eggs.
3. Beat until the eggs are fully broken up. If the mixture appears curdled at this stage, don't worry, this is normal and will be corrected once we add the flour.
4. Add the ground almonds, flour, pinch of salt and the almond extract.
5. Mix just until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. The goal here is to retain the air in the mixture, so avoid overmixing.

Assembling the mince pies

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/392F/gas mark 6.
2. Lightly grease each cup of the fairy tin.
3. On a surface lightly dusted with flour or between two sheets of baking paper, roll out the pastry dough until it reaches a thickness of 3mm.
4. Using the round cutter, cut out circles from the pastry. Re-roll the scraps when needed.
5. Line each cup of the fairy tin with a pastry circle. The most effective method is to gently position the centre of the pastry circle onto the middle of the cup, and then softly press on the edges to mould it into the cup shape.
6. Fill each cup with a teaspoon of mincemeat. Remember to give the mincemeat a quick stir beforehand, just in case the alcohol has separated from the mincemeat.
7. Spoon a generous teaspoonful of the frangipane topping onto each pie. Using the back of a teaspoon, gently spread it to the edges, sealing in the mincemeat.
8. Sprinkle the tops with almond flakes.
9. Bake the mince pies in the preheated oven for 15-17 minutes, or until the tops turn a light golden brown and the frangipane is a little puffed up.

Glazing

1. Briefly warm 1-2 tablespoons of apricot jam in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds.
2. Lightly brush the top of each warm frangipane mince pie with the glaze.
3. Let the pies cool in the tin for 10 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.