Michael's mince pie recipe

Mythbuster Michael has shared his mince pie recipe with us.  This recipe will make 12 mince pies.

• 1 packet or roll of ready-made shortcrust pastry 
• 2 teaspoons of butter
• 300 grams of mincemeat
• 50 grams of chopped glacé cherries
• 50 grams of chopped orange pieces
• 10ml or 2 teaspoons of Disaronno
• 2 Welsh cakes cut into small pieces (or extra pastry)
• 1 tablespoon of icing sugar 

1. Roll out the pastry between 2 sheets of greaseproof paper until it is about 3mm thick.

Melt the butter. 

Brush a 12-hole bun tin with the melted butter.

Use a round cutter to cut out 12 discs of pastry that are a bit bigger than the size of the bun tin holes. You will want the pastry to cover the bottom and sides of the bun tin holes.   

Press a disc of pastry into each bun tin hole.  

Mix the mincemeat, cherries, orange pieces and Disaronno in a bowl or jug. 

Fill each pastry case with 2 teaspoons of the mincemeat mixture.  

Sprinkle the pieces of Welsh cake on the top of each mince pie.  

If you do not have any Welsh cakes, roll out some more pastry and use a smaller round cutter to make the tops for the mince pies.

Turn the oven on to 190°C, 170°C if you have a fan oven, or gas mark 5.  

Put the bun tin in the fridge while you wait for the oven to warm up.

When the oven is the right temperature, bake the mince pies for 20 - 25 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crisp.

Put the bun tin on a cooling rack to cool for 5 minutes.

Take the mince pies out of the bun tin. 

Sprinkle the icing sugar over the mince pies. 

Serve with your choice of brandy butter, cream or ice cream.