~Tea Time Treats for January~
Little Custard Pies with
Mincemeat and Almonds
Mincemeat and Almonds
Tea Time Treats
January
Sweet Pastries and Breads
I promised you some sweet treats for days and did not deliver, and then just like a number 19 bus, they all arrive at once as here is my second sweet treat in the space of two days…….and my entry into January’s Tea Time Treats, which is Sweet Pastries and Breads. When Kate and I were planning what we were going to offer up for our challenge this month the obvious choice was to suggest a low-fat and goody two shoes kind of event; but we don’t work that way, we wanted to prolong that festive feeling for as long as possible, and thus the sweet pastries and breads idea was hatched. And, this is my offering for the challenge, some amazingly easy little custard pies that make use of that half a jar of mincemeat that is probably lurking in your post-Christmas fridge, and also uses, wait for it, READY MADE custard! Easy peasy little pies with custard and puff pastry…..
These custard pies are a real cheat…..they use ready-made puff pastry, ready-made custard, mincemeat ~ I DID use my own home-made boozy fat-free mincemeat however, ground almonds and flaked almonds……easy store-cupboard ingredients and therefore easy to whip up in a sugared trice. My mum had the recipe tucked away in an old magazine and I immediately pounced on it when I saw it…..perfect for Tea Time Treats, perfect for a gloomy January day, perfect to use up that last scrap of Christmas mincemeat and perfect for a naughty mad moment with a cuppa.
I hope you all try to enter the Tea Times Treat challenge for January ~ if only to cheer your self up on a dark, windy, wet day……at the end of each month Kate and I (depending on who is hosting the monthly challenge) post a round up of all the recipes that have been entered and it is a veritable treasure trove of delectable bakes, cakes and of course pastries. If you fancy having a “virtual” tea party, you can view the Tea Time Treats archives HERE. It’s a wonderful way to make something new and meet new people as well as discover new blogs…….I have met some wonderful people and have discovered some fabulous recipes too…..
Time to go, time to eat some more custard pies and ponder on what to make and bake next…..time for a cuppa maybe. This recipe was first published in the BBC Good Food magazine of December 2008, and they (the custard pies) will be on my tea time table many times in the future. See you later, and keep warm, the weather is changing and freezing temperatures are moving in, so the weatherman says.
Karen
Little Custard Pies with
Mincemeat and Almonds
(Makes 12 to 16 pies)
INGREDIENTS:
2 x 150g pots of Devon custard
6 level tablespoons ground almonds
375g ready-made puff pastry, ready rolled
16 teaspoons mincemeat (about 200g/half a jar)
flaked almonds
icing sugar
METHOD:
1. Heat oven to 220C/400F/Gas 7.
2. Stir the ground almonds into the ready-made custard.
3. Unroll the pastry and cut out circles using a 7cm round biscuit cutter. Line some greased bun/tart tins with the pastry circles. You will get between 12 and 16 circles.
4. Spoon a teaspoon of the custard mixture into to each tart/pie case and then top with a small amount of mincemeat, about 3/4 teaspoon. Scatter over some flaked almonds and then bake for 10 minutes until puffy and golden.
5. Cool briefly in the tin, then dust with icing sugar and serve slightly warm.
Puts a whole new meaning on the term "Custard Tart"!
I wonder what Mary Berry would say about using ready-made custard???
That is a really naughty little treat! I must make some this weekend.
One (or two) of those with a cuppa would be very welcome! (no parcel yet…)
Perfect Karen, just the recipe for using up some of the left over mincemeat I have in my store cupboard. Thank you for another inspiring idea:-). Jude x
OMG They are delicious and perfect for my little sweet toothed people, I'm definitely giving these a go.
Thanks for joining in the Foodie Friday
These pies are amazing and I’ve been inspired to feature them in my Friday Food Fetish roundup. And I'll be sharing on Pinterest. Please let me know if you have any objections and KEEP IT COMING!
i'm not so crazy for custard tarts but to be honest these look so good and the mincemeat addition is genius I feel that I could just about manage to squeeze one in!
Just ideal for a Tea time treats as I am a fan of custard.
A naughty mad moment with a cuppa Marie…I'm all for it! ;D
Have a wonderful weekend 😀
A naughty mad moment with a cuppa Marie…I'm all for it! ;D
Have a wonderful weekend 😀
Ooh these look great. I love custard tarts but am not a fan of mincemeat! I'll share mine with Dom as I can have the custard tart and he can have the mincemeat! 😉
Must get to my tea time treat before the end of the month!
What a great idea to add custard, always love new twists on things…make you look extra clever when you make the effort to make things yourself!
I really like the size of these little gems. You can have one and satisfy your craving without having to make the choice of how huge the slice will be when you are slicing the pie. Great idea.
Gorgeous photo and recipe !I know for sure that I could not stop at one !
I literally just found a jar of mincemeat in the cupboard and was wondering what to do with it!! Nice idea, they look lovely, but custard freaks me out…
mariposacakes.blogspot.com
Those look so delcious.
Goodness–they're so cute and they sound delicious. I love custard, mincemeat, pastry and almonds!
Oh my gosh – its too early in the morning to be drooling like this!
Mmm I keep stumbling on stuff to use up my left over mincemeat but this is the first thing using CUSTARD. I like it very much! Well done on making the move to WP, give me a shout if you have any plug in problems etc X
THANKS so much Sarah! LOVE it that you like my recipe and THANKS for the WP support too! VERY kind thanks…..Karen XXX
these look delicious. i have some mincemeat left so might have to rustle these up on the weekend 🙂 thank you for sharing x
Thanks Urvashi! They are a breeze to make and a great way to finish that last bit of mincemeat as you said! Karen
these look so great 🙂 Thank you!
Thank you for this recipe – I made them on Christmas Eve as I wanted to do something Christmassy but not too heavy – and not too complicated either. They were perfect so thank you very much. They tasted delicious and made the kitchen smell lovely too.
Brilliant! Thanks so much for letting me know and Happy New Year! Karen