These Vegan Chocolate and Cherry Mince Pies are a twist on a classic Christmas treat. Get the recipe below.
Cherry and chocolate is a classic flavour combination that never fails to disappoint. This year I've decided to take that combo and turn it into something extra festive by combining then with the flavours of the humble mince pie.
Mince pies are traditionally made with a plain, shortcrust pastry and mincemeat made from dried fruits, suet and a splash of alcohol.
I've mixed things up by adding bittersweet cocoa powder to the pastry and flavour packed glace cherries and Kirsch to the mincemeat. These make for delicious mince pies that everyone will love!
Jump to:
Ingredients
You'll need all the usual mince pie ingredients for this recipe:
- Plain flour
- Vegan butter (it's important this is block butter rather than spreadable butter)
- Plant milk
- Mincemeat
Plus:
- Cocoa powder
- Glace cherries
- Kirsch
You may also want to use icing sugar to dust the mince pies after they are baked.
Step-by-step Instructions
Making mince pies doesn't have to be complicated. Just follow these simple steps:
- Step 1: rub together the vegan butter, flour and cocoa powder until it resembles breadcrumbs
- Step 2: add the water and bring the mix together into a dough, wrap it in clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes
- Step 3: roll out the dough and cut out discs for the bases and your choice of decorative lid
- Step 4: put the discs of pastry into the muffin tins and press down gently
- Step 5: mix together the mincemeat, cherries and kirsch
- Step 6: spoon the cherry mincemeat into the pastry lined muffin tins
- Step 7: add the lids on top of the mincemeat and brush with plant milk
- Step 8: bake until the pastry is cooked and the mincemeat bubbling, dust with icing sugar if using
Substitutions
You can make the following substitutions with this recipe:
- Pastry: take a shortcut by swapping the flour and vegan butter for store bought shortcrust pastry which is ready to roll!
- Cherries: if you find glace cherries too sweet then use dried cherries instead. Its a good idea, however, to soak them in kirsch overnight so they plump up and become juicy.
- Alcohol: if you don't want them to be boozy make sure there's no alcohol in your mincemeat and swap the kirsch for a splash of cherry juice.
Variations
I have lots of different mince pie recipes on the blog. Why not try one of these variations:
Equipment
To make these Vegan Chocolate and Cherry Mince Pies you will need the following equipment:
- Two mixing bowls
- Measuring spoons
- Rolling pin
- Pastry cutters
- Deep muffin tins
- Pastry brush
Storage
These mince pies never last long in my house but you can store them in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Serving suggestions
I like to serve these mince pies warm.
They taste great with a dollop of vegan whipped cream, ice cream or brandy butter.
You can however enjoy them cold too with a warm mug of tea, coffee or mulled wine!
Top tip
Use ice cold water to bring the dough together. It's important that the pastry remains cold - which is why we refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. If you use warm water the butter will melt and the texture of the pastry will be ruined.
Frequently asked questions
You may need to add up to 2 more tablespoons of water if the dough is very crumbly. Try to avoid adding more unless you really need to.
Because the dough is already brown it can be a little tricky to tell when the dough is cooked. You will know when it looks matte rather than shiny and is crisp on the outside.
It is likely that you "over worked" the dough, this means you handled it too much and squeezed the dough together too hard or rolled it out too many times. Be more gentle with your dough next time.
I recommend sliding a small flexible spatula around the edges of the mince pies. If the mincemeat has overflowed, try to do this before it sets hard.
The recipe
Vegan Chocolate and Cherry Mince Pies
Equipment
- 2 mixing bowls
- 1 knife
- 1 chopping board
- 1 spoon
- 1 Rolling Pin
- cookie cutters
- 2 muffin tins
- 1 Pastry brush
Ingredients
- 200 g plain flour
- 25 g cocoa powder
- 100 g vegan butter
- 45 ml cold water (3 tablespoons)
- 1 jar mincemeat
- 150 g glace cherries
- 25 ml kirsch
- 50 ml soy milk
- icing sugar optional
Instructions
- Sieve your flour and cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl
- Cut the vegan butter into cubes and add to the flour and cocoa.
- Rub the fat into the flour by pushing the fat and flour through your finger tips.
- Once the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs (and there are no large lumps of fat) add the water and stir until the mix begins to bind.
- To bring it all together, use your hands to form it into a ball. You may need a little more water to get it to bind together properly but don’t worry just go with your instincts!
- Next place the ball of pastry in a bowl cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
- While the pastry is resting, pre-heat your oven to 180C / 350F/ gas mark 4.
- After 15 minutes, dust a work surface with flour and cut the ball into two pieces - one representing one third of the pastry the other two thirds.
- Roll out the larger pastry ball until a quarter of a centimetre thick and using a large round cutter, cut out 12 bases.
- Gather the scraps together and roll out again as and when you need to.
- Do the same with the small ball of pastry using a cutter one size smaller than before. Cut out another 12 pieces, these will be your lids! (Alternatively use a star cutter for more decorative pies.)
- Grease cupcake tins and place the larger circles into the pans.
- Mix the mincemeat, chopped glace cherries and kirsch in a small mixing bowl.
- Fill with a tablespoon of mincemeat and brush the edges with a little soy milk before placing the lids on top.
- Brush the lids with more soy milk.
- Place in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Once they are done pop on a cooling rack and dust with icing sugar (optional).
Leave a Reply