Recipe | Mince Pie and Pear Strudel

Baklava meets mince pie. Yum! It’s all down to the filo pastry and brushing each
layer with plenty of melted butter as you go (we never said this was a health dish)

Serves 6-8

100g unsalted butter
Zest of one orange (or 2-3 clementines), plus extra for garnish
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
4 sheets of filo pastry
4 tbsp toasted, chopped hazelnuts
400g mincemeat
1 large pear, stalk removed, grated
1 tbsp demerara sugar

To garnish:
Curls of orange or clementine zest
Extra nuts and/or icing sugar

1 Preheat the oven to 200C/Fan 180C/Gas 6. Over a low-medium heat, melt the butter in a pan, with the zest, cinnamon, mixed spice and sugar.

2 Line a baking sheet with baking paper and lay out the first sheet of filo. Brush with the butter mixture and sprinkle over a tablespoon of the hazelnuts. Place the next sheet on top and repeat the process until all four sheets have been coated. Keep the remaining butter to brush the top.

3 Lay the filo so that the sheets are landscape, then add a column of mincemeat down the centre and top with the grated pear. Bring one side of the pastry over and fold around the filling, then repeat with the other side.

4 You may need to turn the strudel so that it fits lengthwise on the tray. Brush the top with the remaining butter and sprinkle with the demerara sugar. Bake for 25 – 30 mins, or until the pastry is golden brown.

5 Remove and allow to cool on a rack, or serve warm. Garnish with orange zest, extra nuts and a light dusting of icing sugar.

This delicious dessert is just one of the puds in our feature The Proof is in the Pudding, from our December issue (in shops now). It also includes recipes for Chocolate Orange Cheesecake, Pavlova with Christmas-Spiced Pears & Pistachios and Winterberry Prosecco Trifle. All excellent alternatives to a traditional Christmas Pud!

More Christmas bakes and makes…

More from our December issue…

Make | molten chocolate oranges

These oozing chocolate treats can be cooked in the embers of a winter barbecue

Whether you’re having a few friends over for a Yule bonfire and some outdoor snacks, or are going ambitious and cooking your whole Christmas lunch outdoors (see our Gathering feature in the December issue) these chocolate puds will put a smile on rosy-cheeked winter faces. And a Terry’s Chocolate Orange will never be quite the same again.

Serves 6

6 oranges
120g unsalted butter
135g dark chocolate (minimum 75% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
4 tbsp Cointreau (optional)
55g plain flour, sifted
Grated chocolate, to garnish

For the vanilla cream

600ml double cream
3 tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or the seeds scraped from 1 vanilla pod

1 Prepare your oranges by slicing the top off each one, about ¼ of the way down – don’t discard the tops!
2 Gently remove the flesh by running a spoon down the sides and pulling the flesh away from the skin. Be careful not to pull out the ‘pith plug’ at the bottom of the orange, as this will create a hole. You can keep the discarded orange flesh in the fridge and have it for breakfast or sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and serve with ice cream.
3 Next, make the vanilla cream. Pour the double cream into a mixing bowl and add the sugar and vanilla. Using an electric whisk, whip until soft peaks form. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge until ready to serve.
4 In a bain-marie, melt the butter and chocolate together. Once melted, remove from the heat and set aside.
5 In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together until light and fluffy. Slowly pour in the chocolate mixture, whilst continuing to whisk on a low speed. Once combined, add the Cointreau (if using) and then fold through the sifted flour.
6 Divide the mixture evenly between the hollowed-out oranges, and replace the orange lids. Carefully double wrap each orange with two layers of foil, watching that the lid doesn’t slip off in the process and that the oranges remain upright at all times. Make sure the oranges are completely sealed in the foil, with no gaps or holes for the chocolate mix to escape through.
7 Place the oranges upright, directly onto hot embers for about 12 mins.
8 Remove from the heat, unwrap and remove the lids. You should have a chocolate sponge with a runny molten middle. Top with the vanilla cream and a grating of chocolate.

These puds were part of our Gathering feature in the December issue with recipes by Bex Long for an outdoor Christmas lunch, including a spectacular hang-roasted bacon-wrapped partridge. Find the rest of the menu in this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

More from our December issue…

More chocolate to tempt you…