Crisp pie crust, rich mincemeat, delicate spice-infused sponge & brilliant white, sweet icing come together to create a taste & texture explosion. This Festive Mincemeat Tart is indulgent, rich & just perfect for the holidays!
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When I think 'festive food', luxury, richness & indulgence come to mind, but the essence of the holidays is truly captured in dried fruits and spices. Think dark, rich Christmas Cake, Christmas Pudding, and mincemeat which we are using to make this deliciously Festive Mincemeat Tart - A spin on the British favourite Bakewell Tart.
Bakewell Tart consists of a pie crust, a layer of jam (usually raspberry), a layer of frangipane (a sweet almondy sponge), and then a topping of toasted flaked almonds. Less traditional versions sometimes have a layer of white icing on the top and glacé cherries for decoration.
Here I am turning Bakewell Tart on its head and making it a festive treat perfect for the holidays! I've switched out the jam for sweet mincemeat, the frangipane for a vanilla, all-spice, cinnamon, and turmeric-infused sponge, and added a layer of sweet, soft white icing with the traditional sprinkle of toasted flaked almonds on the top for great texture and nuttiness.
It's a joy to eat and a great dessert to make ahead for Christmas. It keeps well for about a week; your family and guests will love it!
Mel x
Time-Saving Tip
If you don't have the time to make your own pie crust, buy and use a store-bought pie crust. Many are accidentally vegan. A 9-inch one will be great. An 8-inch one will work too but you will probably end up with a bit of cake batter left over. Grease a well or 2 of a muffin pan and bake it to save wasting it, or make a quick microwave mug cake. A half-filled mug usually takes about 60 seconds to cook.
Recipe
Festive Mincemeat Tart
Author:Ingredients
For the pastry (see recipe note)
- 2 cups (250 grams) all purpose flour (plain flour in the UK)
- ½ cup (100 grams) vegan butter or refined coconut oil , must be cold & hard
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- about 10 tablespoons ice cold water
OR
- 1 8 to 9-inch store-bought pie crust
For the filling
- 1½ cups (340 grams) vegan mincemeat
For the sponge
- 1⅓ cup (170 grams) all purpose flour (plain flour in the UK)
- ½ cup (100 grams) cane or white sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda in the UK)
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup (188 ml) dairy-free milk
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar , or white wine vinegar or lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60 ml) liquid oil , such as vegetable, sunflower, or canola
For the icing
- 1½ cup (187 grams) powdered sugar
- a few tablespoons of water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
For decoration
- 2 tablespoons gently toasted flaked almonds
INSTRUCTIONS
For the pie crust
- Add the flour, vegan butter or cold coconut oil, and salt to a food processor and pulse until like coarse breadcrumbs.
- Slowly add enough water to bring it together into a smooth dough. Pulse between each addtion. I used 10 tablespoons but it will vary depending on your flour brand and the humidity. It should feel soft and pliable but not sticky.
- Line a 9-inch tart pan with the pastry. You can roll it out or if you are lazy like me, just plop the ball of pastry in the pan and flatten it out with your hands.
- Crimp or trim around the edges to tidy it up then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (do not skip the refrigeration).
- Preheat oven to 400℉ (200℃).
- Remove the pie crust from the fridge. Cut a piece of parchment paper big enough to line it and lay it carefully over the pie crust. A trick to make this easier is to cut it to about the right size then literally screw it up into a ball in your hands. Then gently pull it back out flat before laying it over the pastry. Cover the parchment paper with baking beans/pie weights, regular dried beans, or dried rice to weigh down the paper.
- Bake for 15 minutes then gently lift out the beans and paper, and return it to the oven for a further 5 minutes. Remove and lower the heat to 350℉ (175℃).
- Leave the pie crust to cool then spoon in the mincemeat and spread it out evenly to cover the bottom.
For the sponge
- In a bowl add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Stir to combine.
- Make a well in the center and gently pour into it the milk, vanilla extract, vinegar, and oil. Stir to combine being careful not to over-mix.
- Pour the cake batter over the mincemeat layer and spread it out evenly making sure the mincemeat is sealed in well and there are no spaces around the crust edges for it to bubble through.
- Bake for around 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
For the icing
- Put the powdered sugar and vanilla into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Gradually add the water a tiny bit at a time and whisk until you have a smooth, easily drizzle-able icing. Be very careful when adding the water because you hardly need any (just a few tablespoons). Test it is the right consistency by lifting some icing up with the whisk. Let it drizzle back in and ribbons should form on the surface then disappear after a couple of seconds.
- Pour the icing over the sponge and spread out evenly with a pallet knife, spatula, or the back of a spoon. To stop the spreading from damaging the top layer of the cake, fill a mug or glass with cold water and dip the pallet knife/spatula in it every so often. give it a shake to remove any excess water then continue. It really helps it spread more easily.
- Sprinkle the almonds on as soon as you have finished spreading the icingg. It sets quite quickly.
NOTES
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Edy Saint-de Winter says
Very easy to make and looks impressive.
Jenn says
Hi,
I'm going to make this for Christmas. Just wondered how long it will keep once made and should I keep it in the fridge (and then take it out to come to room temp before serving), or is better kept out in an airtight container?
Thanks!
Melanie McDonald says
I prefer to keep this one in a container not in the fridge because the fridge can make sponge a little dry. I'd say 2 or 3 days before would be ideal. We've eaten leftovers even after it's been cut for about a week after and it was great. I hope you enjoy it!
frannarf7 says
I came here looking for your vegan butter recipe (stupid Pinterest links that don't work mutter...mutter...) and saw this spectacular solution to my needs. My husband is a dyed in the wool mince pie lover and has just gone vegan so I needed a solution to his mince pie fix. We used to buy them ready made but this year I made my own vegan fruit mince and have it sitting waiting for the right recipe. I haven't been able to find a good recipe so far and suddenly here it was, most serendipitously! Thank you so much for sharing this excellent recipe. I have subscrubed your blog to my RSS Feed Reader now so that I won't miss another one of your excellent posts. Cheers for solving our Tasmanian Christmas day problem in a deliciously brilliant way :)
A Virtual Vegan says
That's great! I am so glad you stumbled upon the recipe at your (or your husband's) hour of need. Watch out for a traditional style mince pie recipe coming soon and a traditional English accompaniment for them...brandy butter! He will love them all :O) I hope you both have a very merry Christmas!