A lovely friend of mine, Tanya, has a raw food café in London that makes the most exceptional vegan mince pies, which each year I seem to exhale at an alarming rate. They’re so moreish and chewy that I simply cannot get enough of them. This recipe is inspired by the flavours Tanya has captured but are booze-free in honour of my sober husband who can rarely enjoy a mince pie as they’re usually ploughed with liquor. The pastry is especially tangy and delicious due to the orange zest. You may never eat a regular mince pie again!
Vegan mince pies
Print ThisIngredients
- 270g white spelt flour plus extra for dusting
- 250g coconut oil, chilled and cut into small pieces
- ¼ tsp salt
- Zest of 1 orange
- 70ml iced water
- 60ml maple syrup
- Soya milk and agave syrup, for glazing
- 40g sultanas
- 40g raisins
- 40g currant
- 40g mixed peel
- 25g pecans, finely chopped
- 100g coconut palm sugar
- ½ tsp mixed spice
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- Zest of ½ lemon
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 1 cooking apple, unpeeled, cored and grated
Instructions
For the pastry, put the flour, coconut oil, salt and half the orange zest into a food processor and pulse on and off until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Transfer to a bowl and stir through the iced water and maple syrup. Use your hand to gather the dough into a ball. Flatten, wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl place all the filling ingredients plus the remaining orange zest and stir well.
Preheat the oven to 190°C. Grease the muffin tins with a flavourless oil or vegan butter.
Roll out the pastry to a thickness of 3mm. Use a 9-10cm round cutter to stamp out 18 circles. Gently press them into the muffin tins and spoon 1½ tablespoons of mincemeat into each case. With the remaining pastry cut out 18 smaller circles or stars and place on top of the mince pies. Whisk together 1 tablespoon each of soya milk and maple syrup and brush over the top of the mince pies, to glaze.
Bake the pies for 25-30 minutes or until they turn deep golden. Remove and leave to cool for 10 minutes in the tins, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
These will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days or can be frozen for up to a month.
From Happy Vegan, Fearne Cotton, Orion Spring, £20
