Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we’re getting ready for Christmas! Here’s our recipe for festive homemade mincemeat, for making the most delicious mincepies. Our secret ingredient? Coffee, what else! Adding a little of our favourite flavour gives a rich, dark overtones for a more indulgent result. This recipe should be made a couple of weeks before needed to give the flavours time to develop.
This recipe makes about 2.5 kgs, which should be enough to make mincepies for the entire office, or at least your colleagues. Any surplus can be bottled and sealed, and will keep quite happily until next Christmas.
You’ll need:
- 400g cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
- 200g suet, either vegetarian or beef
- 850g mixed dried fruit
- 225g candied peel
- 350g caster sugar
- Zest and juice of two lemons
- 2 rounded teaspoons of ground mixed spice
- 1 rounded teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 4 tablespoons of strong coffee, made from freshly-roasted coffee beans
- Optional: six tablespoons of brandy, Cointreau or port
This recipe is simplicity itself – all you need to do is put everything except the alcohol and the suet into a Pyrex or other heatproof bowl, cover it loosely with aluminium foil and leave it overnight in a cool place. This is so that the flavours develop.
The following day, heat the oven to about 100 degrees Celsius, and put the dish in, still covered, for one to two hours. Take it out, and leave it to cool completely. Stir in the suet and the alcohol, if using, and either use it immediately to make mince pies, mincemeat and apple pudding or mincemeat and apple crumble, or spoon into sterilised jars, seal and label.
For a full range of coffee beans, coffee ingredients and accessories for all your coffee needs over the festive period, please visit www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.