Jane’s Patisserie’s Mince Pie Brownies
With a thin and crunchy pastry base, a chocolatey brownie top and a surprise layer of mincemeat, these easy Christmas brownies are perfect for the festive season.
From the book
Jane’s Patisserie: Celebrate! Bake every day special
The brand-new cookbook from baking sensation Jane's Patisserie
Celebrate every occasion with a bake, from birthdays to Christmas, Easter to Halloween
Featuring cookies to cheesecakes, traybakes to desserts, and much more
Introduction
Mince pies are one of the most iconic British bakes, but to break from tradition slightly, I thought I would have fun by merging them with another iconic bake – the brownie. Introducing the pastry-bottomed, mince pie-stuffed brownie! You can cheat and use shop-bought pastry if you wish, but making it yourself is surprisingly easy, give it a go. If you want to make your own mincemeat, you can find a great recipe on my blog. These hybrid goodies are a magical match made in heaven and perfect for the festive season.
Ingredients
| For the base: | |
|---|---|
| 265g | plain flour, plus extra for dusting |
| 2 tbsp | icing sugar |
| 150g | chilled unsalted butter, cubed |
| 2 | egg yolks |
| 2 tbsp | cold water |
| For the brownies: | |
| 200g | dark chocolate |
| 200g | unsalted butter |
| 4 | eggs |
| 275g | soft light brown sugar |
| 100g | plain flour |
| 50g | cocoa powder |
| 600g | mincemeat |
Essential kit
You will need: a 23cm square tin.
Method
PREP: 1 hour BAKE: 1 hour COOL: 4 hours LASTS: 4–5+ days, at room temperature
Base:
Grease and flour the inside of a 23cm square tin.
In a large bowl, sift the flour and icing sugar. Add the butter, egg yolks and cold water and rub the mixture together with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs, bring together with your hands and knead until a smooth pastry is formed.
Turn out the pastry onto a lightly floured surface and roll out into a large square shape until 3–4mm thick. Press the pastry into the bottom and sides of the tin and trim and neaten the edges if necessary. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200ºC/180ºC fan.
Cover the pastry with parchment paper and fill with baking beans or rice and bake the pastry ‘blind’ for 20 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and the beans and bake for an extra 10 minutes or until the pastry is cooked through and turning golden in colour. Leave to cool in the tin.
Brownies:
Reduce the oven temperature to 180ºC/160ºC fan.
In a small heatproof bowl, break up the chocolate into pieces, add the butter and melt in short bursts in the microwave, or over a pan of simmering water (bain-marie). Leave to cool for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar for a few minutes until the colour has turned pale and the whisk leaves trails of mixture when lifted out. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the egg mixture and fold together carefully. It might take some time, but be patient – you do not want to knock out the air you previously incorporated. Once fully combined, sift the flour and cocoa powder into the brownie mixture and gently fold together once more.
Spread the mincemeat over the bottom of the pastry case and then pour over the brownie mixture. Bake in the oven for 25–30 minutes. Leave to cool in the tin. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours until set. Cut into squares with a sharp knife.
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