If you love mince pies at Christmas, you’ll love this giant version – my mince pie tart. With a crisp, buttery pastry crust filled with your favourite fruit mincemeat and all topped with a crunchy crumble topping.
This is the perfect Christmas dessert. It’s elegant and easy to make and takes some of the most classic of Christmas flavours and turns them into a gathering-sized tart.
Try serving it with warm or cold with this creme anglaise, chantilly cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream for something extra decadent.
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Ingredients
There are very few ingredients in this giant mince pie recipe, keeping things nice and simple at what is a busy time of year. While I urge you to make your own pastry (it’s very easy and very little effort), you could of course, swap it for storebought.
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
Most of the ingredients here are fairly self-explanatory – you have your regular flour, sugar, butter and egg – however a few are worth elaborating on.
- Fruit mince / mincemeat: This is a combination of dried fruits (sultanas, raisins and currants), mixed peel, apples, orange zest and/or juice, brandy, sugar and spices like cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg cooked together to create a preserve or compote of sorts. You can buy it in jars – Robertsons is a classic – or you can make it yourself (try this fruit mince recipe by It’s Not Complicated Recipes).
- Cranberries: As fruit mince can be quite sweet, I like to add some cranberries to add a little tartness. Make sure to use unsweetened dried cranberries. Or leave them out if you prefer.
- Almonds: Not normally in a classic mince pie but they should be, flaked almonds add a lovely texture and nuttiness to the filling. You can leave them out.
How to make it
I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how easy this mince pie tart is to make. It’s actually easier than making individual mince pies.
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
1. Make the shortcrust pastry dough
Start by blitzing flour, sugar and butter in a food processor until the butter is about pea-sized. Next, add the egg and blitz just until combined and it starts to resemble wet sand.
Next, drizzle in some water while the processor is running until the dough starts forming large chunks.
2. Line the tart pan
Form the dough into a disk of dough, trying not to handle it too much, then roll it out on a lightly floured surface to about 28cm/11 inches wide. Fold it over your rolling pin to easily transfer it to your 23cm/9 inch fluted tart pan.
Press the sides downwards into the pan and up against the scalloped edge, leaving the overhang sitting upright. Now, chill the tart case for at least 2 hours. You can actually make this tart case 2-3 days ahead and just have it sit in the refrigerator until you’re ready to put it together.
3. Blind bake the tart case
Now we need to blind bake the pastry shell which just means to par-bake it before putting anything in. Start by using a dinner knife, flat against the edge of the tart pan, to cut away the excess. Next, dock it with a fork, which just means to prick it all over.
Now, crumple up a sheet of baking paper, then press it into your tart shell and fill with pie weights / baking beans, or you can just use rice like I do (I’ve been reusing this same batch of rice for years, you don’t need to throw it away after use). Bake for 20 minutes, remove the paper and weights and bake a further 8 minutes.
4. Make the filling
While the tart shell is baking, simply mix together the filling ingredients in a mixing bowl.
5. Make the topping
The crumble topping is just as easy as the mincemeat filling. Just mix the ingredients in a bowl until combined.
6. Assemble the mince pie tart
Once the tart shell has finished blind baking, add the fruit mince filling mixture and spread it out so that it’s level.
Top it with the crumble topping then bake for another 40 minutes or so until golden brown.
That’s it. It’s truly so simple to make.
How to serve it
Since fruit mince is quite sweet, this tart goes a long way. You can get at least 12 slices from this mince pie tart, if not more.
Again, due to the sweetness, it’s amazing served with just simply whipped cream. Chantilly cream, which is cream laced with vanilla and a little sugar, is also lovely. If you want a warm and comforting mince pie, serve it with creme anglais (runny custard) and if you want an OTT Christmas dessert, serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. You can also lightly dust it with icing sugar (powdered sugar).
Getting ahead
The shortcrust pastry dough and indeed the tart shell itself can be made 2-3 days in advance which is great when you already have loads to do at this time of year. Just make the dough, roll it out and shape it into your tart pan, then chill in the fridge for 2-3 days. Easy!
If making the fruit mince, that can be made ahead too and it can be mixed with the other filling ingredients a few days in advance too.
Finally, the crumble also can be made ahead. Just keep it in the fridge and bring it to room temperature before using.
The assembled and baked mince pie tart is best baked on the day you want to serve it.
Storage
Store any leftover mincemeat tart in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
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Ingredients
FOR THE SHORTCRUST PASTRY
- 225 g plain flour (all purpose flour) (1 ¾ cups / 8oz)
- 50 g white granulated sugar (50g/~1 ¾ oz)
- 100 g unsalted butter cold and cubed (7 tablespoons / 3 ½oz)
- 1 large egg cold
- 1 ½ tablespoons cold water
FOR THE CRUMBLE TOPPING
- 130 g plain flour (all purpose flour) (1 cup)
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar (50g/~1 ¾ oz)
- ¼ cup light brown sugar (50g/~1 ¾ oz)
- 85 g unsalted butter melted (3oz)
FOR THE FILLING
- 700 g fruit mince (~1 ½ lb)
- 1 cup unsweetened dried cranberries (130g/~4 ½oz)
- ½ cup flaked almonds (50g/~1 ¾ oz)
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- 23cm/9 inch flated tart pan
Instructions
- FOR THE PASTRY:In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, sugar, the cold butter and a pinch of salt. See notes if you don't have a food processor.
- Process until the pieces of butter are about pea sized.
- Add the egg and pulse on low until it resembles bread crumbs. Be careful not to overprocess.
- Finally, with the processor on low, dribble in the cold water and let it continue blending until it start to form clumps.
- Turn the pastry dough out onto a clean surface and pull it together with your hands, kneading it just enough to make it mostly smooth.
- Dust the surface with flour, place the dough on top and dust a little flour over the top of the dough. Roll it out to about 4mm (⅙ inch) thick and about 11 inch round, moving it regularly and adding a little flour as necessary – try not to add too much though.
- Place the rolling pin in the middle of the dough and fold one side of the pastry over the top. Lift the rolling pin so the pastry is hanging over it, and lightly dust off any excess flour from underneath. Carefully lay it into a 9 inch round tart pan with removeable base.
- Press the dough down in to the corners all the way round, then press it into the scalloped sides. Leave the overhang standing upright and place the tart pan into the fridge to chill for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight.
- PAR BAKE THE TART SHELL: Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) / 350F.
- Use a fork to prick the pastry base all over. Use a small paring knife to trim off the excess pastry laying the blade flat to the edge of the tin and working around.
- Line the tart shell with a sheet of baking paper and fill pie weights or rice. Fill it quite full and making sure it’s pressed up tight against the edges.
- Bake for 20 minutes then carefully remove the paper and pie weights and bake a further 8 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before going onto the filling.
- MAKE THE FILLING: While the tart shell is baking, add the fruit mince, cranberries, almonds and a pinch of salt to a medium bowl and mix until well combined. Set aside
- MAKE THE CRUMBLE TOPPING: In a medium bowl, add the flour, both sugars and mix well to combine. Add the melted butter and use a fork to stir until combined.
- ASSEMBLE THE TART: Once the tart shell has finished blind baking, add the fruit filling to the tart and spread out so that it’s level and flat.
- Add the crumble in some small chunks, some larger chunks over the top, leaving a little gap around the edge so that you can see the fruit mince.
- Bake for a further 40-45 minutes until golden on top.
- Let the tart cool and serve with whipped cream.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
- If you don’t have a food processor, grate cold butter into the bowl with the flour and sugar and cut the butter in using a knife, your fingertips or a pastry blender.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
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