With the advent of December I wanted to bake something festive. Normally in December I do like to bake a lot using Mincemeat.
Don't be confused by mincemeat I don't mean hamburger. Mincemeat instead is a delicious combination of chopped dried fruits, apple, spirits, spice and suet, or butter (if you cannot get suet.) I love the stuff and use it a lot all through the year, but most especially in December.
One way that I enjoy using it is in these Mincemeat Buns. In the UK, they often call small cakes, or cupcakes . . . buns. This is Mary Berry's recipe.
I adapted it from one I found in her Complete Cookbook. I cut the recipe in half because the original recipe made 32 buns. I did not want that many. I also adapted it to use both North American and British/European measures.
Generally speaking each year I will make my own Mincemeat using this recipe. It is Delia Smith's. I have also made my own using this recipe for Brandied Mincemeat, which comes from Nigel Slater.
Failing having my own I buy it. This is the type I buy here in Canada and it is available in the baking section of most of the major grocery shops here in Canada. In the US you can find it on Amazon.
But really it is very easy to make your own and I can promise you that you will use it all up! I have an abundance of recipes for just that purpose here in my kitchen.
There are these delightful little spicy cakes to begin with, but that's not all. A few other recipes which you might enjoy are Apple and Mincemeat Pudding ( a delicious dessert!!), Christmas Morning Breakfast Buns (like cinnamon rolls but with a mincemeat filling.)
Then there is Festive Apple Dumplings with spiced Creme Anglaise, Marzipan and Mincemeat Tea Loaf, and then of course mince pies.
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to recipes on the blog which use mincemeat! Yes, I do love the stuff!
I started using the Advent Calendar my friend Diana sent me this morning and I wanted a sweet treat to go along with my cup of tea. It was a nice Gingerbread infusion today.
I remembered seeing these buns in Mary's cookbook and decided that today was the day I was going to finally baking them!
One thing I noticed in the UK was that people didn't let not having a muffin tin stop them from making bakes like this. They just drop the batter into paper cups and bake away.
The cakes are not quite as tall this way, but they do hold their shape as you can see from the photograph of the two buns on my tea plate below. I cooked half of them in my six cup muffin tin and half in just papers with excellent results.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE MINCEMEAT BUNS
Simple ingredients put together in the most delicious way.
- prepared mincemeat
- dried currents
- butter, softened (just use at room temperature)
- sugar (use finely granulated or castor sugar)
- free range egg
- self rising flour (I tell you how to easily make your own in the notes)
That is it. Six simple ingredients! No fuss no muss!
HOW TO MAKE MINCEMEAT BUNS
As always, Mary's recipe is pretty fool proof. You would expect nothing less from the doyenne of British baking!!
The GBBO just has not been the same for me since she left. I know many agree with me. I tried watching the Canadian version of the same last night and it didn't do it for me either. I need Mary Berry for full satisfaction!
I just trust her. She is nice and she knows her apples from her oranges.
You will need to either butter a 12 hole muffin tin really well for these, or use 12 paper cases. I used half and half so I could see how they worked either way.
They worked well both ways just so you know!
For these Mary employs the all-in-one method. That is simply bunging all of the ingredients in a bowl and whisking them together with an electric whisk until they are perfectly blended.
Nothing could be easier. I put the butter in first, then the sugar, flour, egg, mincemeat and currants and then just beat it all together. You can scrape the sides of the bowl down once or twice with a spatula just to be sure everything is in there.
And that's it, just divide the batter between your muffin/bun tin holes or paper cases and pop into the oven to bake. 25 to 30 minutes.
Try not to drool at the smells that will start emanating from your oven! These quite simply smell gorgeous!
They are done when they are golden brown and a the tops spring back when lightly touched. It may or may not take a tiny bit longer than the time suggested in the recipe. Test to be sure.
A toothpick inserted in the center also comes out clean. Pop them onto a wire rack to cool completely before dusting with some icing sugar to serve and enjoy!
These are so simple and yet so pretty. I dusted them with some icing sugar because I think, especially during the holidays, a little bit of icing sugar dresses most sweet things up perfectly!
Oh, I am missing my Christmas decorations from the UK. I try not to think about them, but I can't help it really. I suppose in time I will build things up again. Fingers crossed.
Don't let my lack of festive decor put you off from baking these fabulous cakes. Just don't. You will be missing out on something really tasty if you do.
Mincemeat Buns For an ‘elevenses’ treat or after-school snack, these buns are a delicious alternative to mince-pies but still pack a festive punch.
I expect I shall bake these several times in the coming weeks. Yes, they are that good! I also have it on good authority that they taste awfully nice with a healthy dollop of Brandy sauce on top.
Mary Berry's Mincemeat Buns
Yield: 12
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 35 Min
These little cakes are delicious. Moist, fruity and nicely spiced! Quick and easy to make as well!
Ingredients
- 6 ounces (170g) prepared mincemeat (scant 3/4 cup)
- 3/4 cup (115g) dried currants
- 1 large free-range egg
- 1/3 cup + 1 TBS (75g) finely granulated sugar (castor sugar)
- 1/3 cup (75g) butter at room temperature
- 1 cup - 1 TBS (125g) self raising flour (see notes)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325*F/160*C/gas mark 3. Have ready 12 paper cases or a 12 cup muffin tin. (you don't need to put the cases in a tin, they will cook properly just as is if you place them on a baking sheet.) If using a tin, butter it well.
- Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and beat together for 2 minutes until light, fluffy and well combined.
- Divide equally amongst your muffin cups/paper cases.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown and springy to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
- These are very pretty served dusted with icing sugar.
Notes:
You can easily make your own self rising flour. For each cup of flour, measure out 1 cup and add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt. Whisk well together. I make mine 3 to 4 cups at a time so I have it ready to use whenever I need it.
Congratulations on your newest book Marie, I agree with you about Mary Berry, her sticky toffee pudding is my fav of hers.
ReplyDeleteI would love to have an extensive cook book collection but cost is always an issue for me, thats why I'm so grateful to all food blogs, especially you, that so unselfishly share great reliable, tasty recipes.
Hope you have a nice day : ))
Thanks very much Faye. What I love about Mary Berry is she is consistently reliable! You just know her recipes are fail-proof! xoxo
DeleteThese buns sound delicious. Can they be frozen?
ReplyDeleteI can't see why not Dagmar! xoxo
DeleteMarie - I have been meaning to send you a Comment to tell you “Thank You So Much” for this wonderful blog and for all of your efforts that you share with us.
ReplyDeleteI only found your blog very recently looking at some other blog and kind of stumbled onto it - but what a great stumble! First of all, practically everything I’ve looked at on your blog looks and sounds so delicious and the few recipes I’ve tried
myself are so great! Since there are just two of us here, I especially appreciate that so many are especially focused on cooking for two.
Again, thank you so much!
Thanks so much for your sweet comment Barb! It’s really nice to be appreciated! Thank YOU! Xoxo
DeleteI whipped these up today as a quick desert but I'm not sure I did everything correctly. First off all your recipes work like a charm for me so that is why I'm puzzled. I also have great admiration for MB but I'm not a fan of the "all in one bowl method". I think I may have overbeaten the batter. The cakes were on the dry side and little tough. I'm a seasoned baker so I think it may be the method that is the problem. They baked for 25 mins but were not as dark as yours. I'm going to give it another go with creaming first and I'll let you know how it turns out.
ReplyDeleteOh dear. I am so sorry yours ended up that way. Overbeating could be the problem. I have my fingers crossed for you! xoxo
DeletePS - I found the ones I baked in paper cases to have a slightly different outer texture than the ones I baked totally in my muffin pan which is ceramic. The ones baked in the pan were crisper on the outsides if that makes sense!
I’ve just pulled batch #2 out of the oven. I did the creaming method, ie old school , and they look so much better. Puffy and light. I think I beat them for too long yesterday ,I have a large kitchen Aid which is pretty heavy duty. We are going to enjoy them with Bird’s custard! If you know, you know! Thanks for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteAs a Canadian, I would love to see your recipes in volume rather than weights. As you know most NA cooks don't have scales in the kitchen, despite it perhaps being more scientific. I've read through your recipes and will definitely try several, and gradually develop my own quantities! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI do endeavor in most cases to provide both measures, imperial and metric. I assume you are referring to the 6 ounces of mincemeat here. 6 ounces is 3/4 cup.
DeleteIt would be helpful if you stuck to imperial or metric measurements rather than mixing them!
ReplyDeleteI do try my best to please everyone.
DeleteI made these and while they tasted fine , they didn't look even remotely like the pics but more importantly they were quite dry. I thought while reading the recipe there was next to no liquid in it and when I was mixing the batter it was very stiff,so stiff in fact it was difficult to put into the muffin tin. I have subsequently looked at other recipes and they all contain some form of liquid. I have made many types of muffins in the past so I am not a complete novice.
ReplyDeleteAm I missing something here? Was very disappointed in the result .
Richard
Without being in your actual kitchen I can't say what the problem was with your cakes. Perhaps your mincemeat was a bit on the dry side? These are not meant to be like muffins actually if that was what you were looking for. They are like small fruit cakes. Most British cakes are a bit on the dry side in comparison to American cakes. I call them sturdy cakes. Not all flours are created equal as well. Some flours come out drier than others. For future reference if you have any cake batter that seems a bit on the dry side, it doesn't hurt to stir in a tablespoon or two of milk. So sorry you were disappointed.
DeleteThanks for the feedback, much appreciated. I did consider the mincemeat so I might try again with a fresh jar.
DeleteHi Richard, I do hope that you are more pleased with the second batch. Remember if you think the batter is too dry you can always add a TBS of milk, but in Mary's original recipe there is no milk at all, just what you see here.
DeleteHaven't made second batch yet , but I did invest in a jar of Robertson's Mincemeat. I'll also weigh my ingredients this time . Fingers crossed. I shall let you know how I make out. Cheers
DeleteThanks for the feedback , much appreciated. I did consider the mincemeat and may try again with a fresher jar.
ReplyDeleteI made a batch this morning and they turned out much better. I used Robertson's Mincemeat and weighed everything. I also creamed the butter and sugar before adding the other ingredients . Thanks for your advice. I would make these again.
ReplyDeleteThat makes me very happy Richard. I am so pleased we were able to figure things out! I wish for you a very Happy Christmas!
DeleteMarie, love mincemeat and are going to try these…do you know of a recipe for mincemeat pumpkin pie? Tried it at a restaurant in Ont. and loved it…just wondering. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI made these today in place of making actual mince pies. They were delicious!!! Not dry at all. They were perfect! You get the mince pie satisfaction without all the fuss.Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!
ReplyDeleteI just scooped them into my muffin tins and with a #10 scoop, this recipe yielded only 6 muffins, not 12. They smell good, though. Just an FYI
ReplyDeleteThe amount of muffins you make will vary according to the size of your tin. My muffin baking dish that I used made six muffins perfectly and there was just a tiny bit leftover which I made in two extra liners. I just spooned it into the pan.
DeleteI made these little mincemeat buns and they are fantastic. Used Tiptree Mincemeat and SunMaid brand Zante Currants. Recipe made 13 muffins. I used paper in the muffin tin. Other comments said the batter was a bit stiff - and it was. I added 2 Tablespoons of buttermilk. Perfect. I did weigh the flour, sugar, mincemeat and currants. Maybe my oven runs hot as the buns were done in 20-22 minutes. We ate them hot out of the oven. I did freeze 6 of them. When we were ready to eat I defrosted them at room temperature and heated them up in my toaster oven. Will definitely be making these again.
ReplyDelete