I have tried gluten free mince pies from the freefrom aisle and they just crumbled as I ate them. So when our Glutafin home economist sent me a new recipe of mince pies (with a twist) then I was excited. I was having friends around for some Christmas food and drink last weekend so decided to make this for dessert. It is one huge mince pie rather than several! It also means it lasts longer too which is great as it is delicious.
I started making the pastry with Glutafins pastry recipe using their Select Mulitpurpose white flour mix. This is gluten free flour mix but if you are also intolerant to wheat starch as some are sensitive, then they do have a Gluten free Wheat free flour mix.
I definitely recommend using butter like the recipe states. Glutafin do recommend this because margarine has a higher water content so afects the texture of the pastry. But definitely take out the butter before you start making the pie as it is so much easier at room temperature.
Also always have the Glutafin flour mix on hand as it is great for dusting when rolling out the pastry. Before I rolled it out I put it in a big lump in the fridge for 3 minutes to help it chill. If you can do longer then do as it is so much easier rolling it out as it doesn't crack! There are some other great tips from our home economist on using Glutafin's flour mix.
When it comes to the mincemeat then I have researched some gluten free versions. Frank Cooper Mincemeat or Robertons Mincemeat Classic or Mincemeat Luxury are gluten free. I had Robertons Mincemeat Classic which I found in Tesco and Asda and is delicious.
I just filled the bottom of my tin with the mincemeat, I used the whole jar even though I could of left some out as tin was smaller, but it was tasty! Then rolled my pastry out to the right size of my tin and placed on top. I then used a pastry brush and covered the edges of my pastry with some melted butter to stop it from burning. As I had some pastry left over I used my snowmen cutters and put 3 snowmen on top to make it more festive! I baked it for about 25 minutes and then kept checking it until it was a nice golden colour. It was so easy to make and when it had cooled I sprinkled it with icing sugar. Very pretty!
My friends are not gluten intolerant but I find it easy to bake gluten free things like these mince pies and flatbread gluten free as no-body can tell it is gluten free with the Glutafin Multipurpose flour mixes. I got a lot of finished plates and two of my friends even asked for seconds! A success in cooking and in my dinner party thanks to this mix!
I found this readers blog very helpful. I have just bought my first food mixer and hope to start baking and hope it turns out as good as hers.