Buckwheat Almond pastry
- Pre-heat the oven.
- Rub a little butter around the inside of two 12-hole tart trays.
- Measure the flour, icing sugar and xanthan gum into a bowl, stir to combine and sieve into a mixing bowl.
- Stir in the ground almonds.
- Add the butter and work into the flour with a fork or pastry blender until it resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the egg yolks and water and stir to make a soft dough.
- Dust the work surface with flour, put the dough in the middle and sprinkle it with more flour.
- Roll out the pastry until about 1.5mm/1/16” thick.
- Select a pastry cutter or cup with a diameter 2cm/¾” larger than the holes of the tart trays and press it into the dough to make circles.
- Lift the pastry circles into the prepared tart trays.
- Gather up the pastry off cuts, pressing them into a ball of dough and roll it out again to cut more circles or wrap and freeze the leftover pastry for another day.
Mincemeat Filling
- Put a teaspoon of mincemeat in the centre of each tart without filling to the edge of the pastry.
- Bake for 12–14 minutes.
or Homemade Mincemeat Filling
- Peel and coarse grate the apple, into a saucepan.
- Finely grate the orange peel into the pan, squeeze and add the orange juice.
- Add the oil and sugar and simmer over a gentle heat for 8-10 minutes, until the apple starts to collapse into the syrup.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the mixed dried fruit and peel and mixed spice.
- Cover, leave to cool and leave to stand for 12 hours before use. The mincemeat can be put into sterilized jars, refrigerated for three days or frozen until required.
- Put a teaspoon of the mixture in the centre of each tart.
- Bake for 12–14 minutes.
Meringue Topping
- Sieve the icing sugar, cornflour and Vitamin C into a bowl and stir to combine.
- Put the egg whites into a larger bowl and beat until stiff.
- Beat the prepared sugar mix into the egg white, a spoon at a time.
- Pipe a swirl or put a teaspoon of meringue on the top of each tart.
- Bake for a further 10–12 minutes until the meringue is a light golden colour.
- Serve warm or cold.
2 x 12 hole tart tray, round pastry cutters, saucepan and 3 x mixing bowls
180°C, Fan 160°C, 350°F, Gas 4