Non Mince Pies

The Mince Pies with No Mince

Ingredients:

For the pastry

60g granulated sugar
95g unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large free range egg yolk
150g plain flour
4 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch salt

For the pear caramel
170g golden caster sugar
2 or 3 medium-sized ripe pears, peeled, cored & chopped into 1cm pieces
100ml double cream
Pinch sea salt

For the chocolate ganache
150g dark chocolate, chopped
100ml double cream

To assemble
Handful toasted pecans, finely chopped

Method:

For the pastry
Beat the butter and sugar together until just smooth,  Add the egg yolk and mix, then add the flour, cinnamon and salt, mixing into a dough.

Divide the dough into ten equal pieces and press directly into a muffin tin, pressing gently so that the pastry is of an even thickness on the bottom and sides.

Prick the bases of each tartlet with a fork then put the tray in the freezer for 90mins

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. Remove the tart cases from the freezer and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven, press flat any dough that has risen away from the edges then return to the oven and bake for a further rwelve minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

For the pear caramel
In a large, saucepan, heat the sugar until it begins to melt. Stir the caramelised edges into the middle until all the sugar is dissolved.

Add the chopped pears. The caramel harden: as you continue to heat the mixture it will return to its liquid state. Cook the mixture for ten minutes over a medium heat, until the pears are soft and mushy.

Mash and squash the pears and caramel together to form a mushy, thick liquid. Cook for two minute then remove from the heat and add the double cream and salt. Mix everything together taking care to seal it tight as the caramel will still be hot!

Transfer the caramel to a bowl and allow to cool at room temperature, then store in the fridge until needed.

For the chocolate ganache
In a small saucepan, heat the cream until it bubbles. Remove from the heat and pour over the chopped chocolate, allowing to stand for about 45 seconds. Stir the cream and chocolate until combined in a smooth ganache.

To assemble
Spoon 1 – 2 teaspoons of caramel into the base of each pastry case. Divide the ganache between the eight pies, pouring over the caramel layer and smoothing the top with a palette knife.