Buckwheat Almond Pastry

Pre-heat the oven.
Rub a little butter around the inside of two 12-hole tart trays.
Chop the butter into small cubes.
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 cubes and work them 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 coconut oil and brown 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