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Christmas dessert recipe

Christmas “Mince Pie” from the Michelberger Restaurant

Alan Micks has been head chef at the excellent Michelberg restaurant of the same name for almost ten years Berlin cult hotel. He has put together a wonderful Christmas recipe from his native Ireland for us to bake. The so-called “mince pies” are traditional British-Irish Christmas sweets that are often served with tea or coffee in the afternoon during the Christmas season or as a dessert. Santa Claus is also given some pie, a glass of sherry, brandy or milk on Christmas Eve as a thank you for the gifts. It's best to prepare the recipe the day before so that baking goes better.

Mince pie Christmas recipe

Mince pie with pumpkin seed frangipane and whiskey sauce

Ingredients for one large or 8 small tart cases

Spiced pulp

Mince is derived from mincedmeat and literally means minced meat, although there is no meat in it these days

- 50 g butter

– 50 g breadcrumbs (fresh)

– 110 g grated apples (ideally Boskop)

– 110 g candied oranges 

– 110 g sultanas 

– 110 g raisins 

– 110 g plums (chopped)

– 90 g Demerara sugar (natural cane sugar)

– 1 gram each of cinnamon, clove, coriander and nutmeg

– Peel from an orange (zest)

– 100 ml orange juice 

– 100 ml Irish whiskey

Mix all ingredients together in a large pot. Place on the stove and heat slowly until it begins to steam. Then simmer for 25 minutes, stirring constantly. Allow to cool in the pot and place in the refrigerator overnight.

frangipane

– 250 g soft butter

– 250 grams of sugar

– 170 g pumpkin seed flour

- 85 g flour

– 0,5 g salt

– 0,7 g baking powder

- 3 eggs

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.

In a food processor or blender, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Slowly add the eggs and beat again, then add the dry ingredients and mix for 10 seconds. Also place in the refrigerator overnight.

Tart dough

– 170 grams of wheat flour 

– 100 g butter (cold and diced)

– 4 grams of sugar 

– 5 g salt 

- 1 egg

– 5 ml water (ice cold)

Mix the flour, salt, sugar and butter into crumbles with your hands. Add the egg and mix, add the water and combine. Do not knead the dough like bread. Place in the refrigerator overnight.

Whiskey sauce

– 300 ml cream

- 300 ml of milk

- 2 eggs

– 25 grams of sugar

– 20 ml whiskey

Bring the cream and milk to the boil in a saucepan. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, whiskey and sugar. Pour the hot cream and milk over the top and whisk again until well combined. Return to pot and cook until mixture thickens. Do not let cook. Allow to cool in a separate container or bowl and also store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Preparation

Roll out the tart dough on a dusted surface to 2-3 millimeters and line a tart mold or 8 smaller tart cases. Place back in the fridge and let rest for 10 minutes.

Blind baking: Then blind bake the tart/tart cases for 10 minutes at 190 degrees Celsius, with baking paper and beans/rice to weigh them down. If the dough still looks too raw, put it back in the oven for a few minutes. Remove the beans/rice and let the dough cool.

To finish baking, spread the fruit mixture evenly over the bottom of the tart pan, then top with the pumpkin seed frangipane. For the smaller tarts, distribute the mixtures evenly.

Bake the tart at 160 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

To serve, dust with powdered sugar and pour over the whiskey sauce.

We all wish all readers a Merry Christmas and delicious holidays.

You can find out more about the Michelberger Hotel here.
Michelberger Restaurant and Hotel Berlin
Michelberger Restaurant Berlin

You can find more restaurants with a green mission here.

© Photos: Michelberger

Geraldine works as a freelance writer for Good Travel and has just completed training as a sustainability manager. After twenty exciting years in film, she now devotes herself full-time to her other passions - travel, food and design.

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