Ever since making this really easy Sweet Christmas Mincemeat recipe I’ve never bought my mincemeat from the shops!
Originally the recipe was from my trusty Delia Smith’s Complete Cookery Course which she has extracted all of the Christmas recipes you would ever want into a single book and nowerdays you don’t even have to buy the books as Delia has put all of her recipies online.
The recipe I use now is a little bit more fluid based on what is in the cupboards….
Ingredients
- 1 lb Cooking (Bramley) apples, cored and chopped small (no need to peel them)
- 2 oz flaked almonds
- 4 tsp mixed ground spice
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 nutmeg grated
- 8 oz shredded suet
- 28 oz mixed fruit (whatever is in the cupboard) raisins, sultanas, currants, apricots etc
- 8 oz whole mixed candied peel, finely chopped
- 12 oz soft dark brown sugar
- 2 oranges grated zest and juice
- 2 lemons grated zest and juice
Later on
- 6 tablespoons brandy plus one for the pot
Instructions
- Mix together all the ingredients into a air tight tub
- Leave for 12 hours (or overnight)
- Place into a roasting tray & cover with foil
- bake for 3 hours at 120 degrees (that’s for a fan oven – if you need a different type use this to convert)
- Take it out of the oven and let it cool – as it does every so often (30mins or so) give it a stir.
- Once it is cool stir in the brandy.
- Then put it into freshly sterilised jars with either screw tops or a circle of greaseproof paper and then a pretty bit of fabric tied around the top to seal the jars.
Notes: I usually make double the recipe so that I can give several jars away but still have enough for me. 🙂
This Sweet Christmas Mincemeat can be made a couple of months in advance, I usually make it about the end of October and will should keep very happily in a dark cupboard for a couple of years, well that’s what Delia says I’ve never kept mine for longer than a year as it gets eaten!!!
