You will need
250 g mixed fruit cake mix
50 g glacè cherries, halved
1 lemon, zested
2 T (30 ml) lemon juice
1 orange, zested
¼ cup (60 ml) orange juice
1 apple, unpeeled and grated
2 T (30 ml) marmalade
½ t (2.5 ml) ground cinnamon
¼ t (1.25 ml) ground cloves
½ t (2.5 ml) ground ginger
½ t (2.5 ml) Ina Paarman’s Seasoned Sea Salt
¼ cup (60 ml) brandy
2 cups (240 g) flour
pinch of salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
½ t (2.5 ml) mustard powder
125 g butter, fridge temperature
1 cup (250 ml) cheddar cheese, grated
1 egg yolk
± ¼ cup (60 ml) cold water, add a little more until a pliable dough is obtained
pastry stars
silver dust
icing sugar (optional)
Method
Fruity Mince Filling
Mix all the ingredients together. Microwave on high for 5 minutes in a big microwave bowl.
Leave covered in the fridge to ripen for at least one day and night or can be made up to a minth before.
Cheese Pastry
Sift the dry ingredients together twice. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, we prefer to use a food processor. Add the cheese.
Mix the egg yolk and cold water and use to mix the pastry to a firm but pliable dough. Knead dough lightly, flatten into a disk, cover with clingfilm and stand at room temperature or chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Can be done the day before.
To Assemble
Use yellow peaches in place of mango.
Spray two mini muffin tins with non-stick spray and keep on one side.
Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 190°C.
Roll out the pastry very thinly ± 2 mm.
Cut into squares 6 cm x 6 cm. We made a 6 cm wide cardboard strip as a guide. Use the off cuts of the pastry re-roll and cut out small star shapes.
Place pastry squares over the hollows of the mini muffin tins and push them down using a tiny glass or a a wine cork. Prick the pastry bottoms 3 times with a fork.
Blind bake the pastry and stars for 12 minutes until straw coloured.
To Serve
Spoon generous teaspoons full of fruit mixture into the pastry tartlet shells. Can be done to this stage, store baked pastry in an airtight container – interlined with baking paper until needed.
Brush pastry stars with silver cake dust.
Top each little mince pie with a silver dusted star.
Dust with icing sugar if desired.
