Ingredients for filling:

500g Apples cored and chopped in small cubes,

400g Raisins,

250g Sultanas

275g Currants,

250g Candied Peel,

75g chopped Almonds,

120ml Cognac,

1 tablespoon Mixed Spice,

375g Brown Sugar,

240g Suet,

2 Oranges and Lemons grated zest and juice,

Method:

Mix all ingredients, minus the cognac, thoroughly and leave covered with foil at room temperature overnight. Later on the following day put in an oven set at 120C for about three hours.

Take it out of the oven. Add the cognac, stir, put in jars and seal.

Store in your pantry for years!!

For the pastry you need:

400g plain flour,

50g lard,

100g butter,

a pinch of salt

some cold water.

100ml mixed with an egg yolk for glazing pies.

Sift flour and salt, rub in fats until you get fine crumbs then add enough water to mix to a dough that leaves the sides of the bowl clean. Do not over do the water.  Do not overwork the dough.  It is simple enough to be done by hand.  Leave the pastry to rest in a polythene bag in the refrigerator for at least half an hour or even overnight.

Roll out the dough and line up the mince pie moulds.

A little trick: we first cut the tops using s ring cutter and use the off cuts to which we add some more flour and water to roll out again and do the bases of the mince pies with.  This is such a delicate pastry that making the base less fatty tends to improve the cohesion of the pie once it is baked.

Fill with mincemeat.  Do not over fill.  Average that once the filling melts to a flat level, it does not exceed the edge of the base.

Brush the sides of the mince pie bases with the milk and egg mixture and place the top of the pie, pressing gently with either the reverse of the ring cutter or with the lip of a jar. Use a knife to make some little cuts on the surface of the pies.

Brush tops with some milk mixed with an egg yolk.  Bake for 20-25 minutes in an oven pre-heated to 200 Celsius.

Top with some icing sugar.