Those crumbly ridiculously rich fruity Christmas pies are everyone’s favourite dessert during the festive season. Did you know they were originally made with actual minced meat mixed with fruit and spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon.
They were also known as ‘mutton pie’, ‘shrid pie’ (because of the shredded suet) and ‘Christmas pie’. Dating back to the Middle Ages when men returning from the Crusades brought back Middle Eastern recipes containing meat, fruit and spice, the pastry on these early pies was a far cry from the buttery, flaky deliciousness we know today.
Instead, the pastry, made from a flour and water paste, was just a case to keep the filling moist while baking. In the 16th Century, the recipe called for beef tongue and boiled beef was an essential ingredient at one point; it was during the mid-18th Century that cookbooks showed recipes for sweet mince pies as an alternative to the meaty variety.
The sweet version won over the world in later years and has become a Christmas staple ever since. According to tradition, you must always make a wish on the first pie you eat during the festive season and at one time in England during Oliver Cromwell’s reign, they were actually banned as was anything considered to be a frivolous, godless tradition.
Mince pies have got smaller and smaller over time until they became the perfect bite size we know and love today; cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg were included to represent the gifts given to Jesus by the Three Kings, making them the traditional Christmas snack for one and all.
Early ingredients also included hard-boiled eggs and cheese…not quite the palate-pleaser we crave today!
At Coco’s Patisserie on Koornang Road in Carnegie, they take their Christmas fruit mince pie making seriously – AFL Grand Final Day marks the start of the fruit soaking process! Head Chef, Kane Neal serves up his recipe to AGFG foodies, which has a gingerbread star on the top of each pie sprinkled with raw sugar.
He also details how to make the perfect short crust pastry so there is no excuse not to make these beauties this weekend!
