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Mince pie and almond tart with custard

Dazzle your guests this Christmas with a handcrafted tart infused with holiday spices, filled with mincemeat and frangipane, all encased in a delightful, flaky pastry.

Preparation time
30 mins to 1 hour

Cooking time
30 mins to 1 hour

Serves
Serves 8


By Matt Tebbutt
From Saturday Kitchen

Ingredients

For the almond paste

  • 2 medium eggs
  • 125g/4½oz caster sugar
  • 125g/4½oz unsalted butter
  • 125g/4½oz ground almonds

For the mince pie and almond tart

  • 400g/14oz good quality mincemeat
  • 50ml/2fl oz dark rum
  • 50g/1¾oz dried cranberries
  • 1 orange
  • 30cm/12in ready-made cooked tart case
  • ready-made shortcrust pastry, cut into 2cm strips
  • 1 free range egg, beaten
  • 8–10 whole almonds, to garnish

For the custard

  • 500ml/18fl oz milk
  • dark rum, to taste
  • 100ml/3½fl oz double cream
  • ½ nutmeg, freshly grated
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 4 free-range egg yolks
  • 30g/1oz caster sugar
  • 2 tsp cornflour

For the cream

  • 100g/3½oz mascarpone
  • 50ml/2fl oz double cream
  • icing sugar, to taste

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.

  2. To make the almond paste, beat the ingredients together to form a smooth paste.

  3. To make the tart, add the mincemeat, rum and cranberries to a bowl. Grate in the zest of the whole orange and squeeze in the juice from half. Mix to combine.

  4. Spread the almond paste over the base of the pastry tart case. Top with the mincemeat mixture, then lay the pastry strips over the top of the tart, weaving them in a lattice style, before trimming off the edges. Brush the pastry with an egg glaze and sprinkle the whole almonds over the top. Bake for 30–40 minutes until the pastry is golden.

  5. To make the custard, add the milk, rum, cream, nutmeg and cinnamon to a saucepan and place over a medium heat. Bring to the boil, then turn off the heat and leave to infuse for 30 minutes.

  6. In a bowl, mix together the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour. Return the pan of infused milk to the heat and bring back to the boil, then pour over the egg mixture. Mix well and return to the heat. Stir continuously until thickened. Once thick, place a sieve over a bowl and strain the custard, then keep warm until needed.

  7. To make the cream, whip all the ingredients together to form soft peaks, then place the cream in a piping bag. When the mince pie is cool, pipe into a few of the spaces in the lattice.

  8. Serve the cream-topped mince pie alongside the warm custard.

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