Frangipane Mince Pies, a delicious twist on the traditional mince pie recipe. The pies are made with an easy sweet pastry, rich mincemeat and topped with frangipane for an indulgent touch. A decadent Christmas dessert that will go down well with absolutely everyone.
If you like the traditional mince pies, these frangipane mince pies will definitely be an instant hit this Christmas. They are as rich and overly indulgent, but with an almond touch that makes them even yummier.
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What is frangipane
Frangipane might sound like a fancy word that professional chefs use for a very complicated to make delicacy, but in fact it's nothing but a sweet almond-flavoured cream or paste that can be used as a filling or a base/topping for many desserts.
It is made with ground almonds, butter, eggs, sugar and almond extract and it's incredibly delicious and super quick to make too. The most popular dessert that uses frangipane has to be the Bakewell Tart, but it can be used for various other desserts too.
Why this recipe works
- it's failproof - no need to worry about a not-so-perfect pastry topping that might shrink in the oven, this frangipane topping rises beautifully and covers the mincemeat filling really well
- it's quick to make - if you have all the ingredients ready, the frangipane paste is ready in minutes
- it's delicious - trust me on this, absolutely everyone from little to big will love it!
Ingredients used to make the sweet pastry
- flour - plain regular flour works the best for making sweet or savoury pastry
- butter - best used cold from the fridge
- sugar - either granulated or caster sugar to sweeten the pastry
- milk - to find all the ingredients together
- egg - I used a whole egg for this recipe, a small egg is more than enough
Ingredients used to make the frangipane
- ground almonds - or almond meal, easily available in any larger supermarket
- butter - soft, but not melted
- eggs - at room temperature
- sugar - either granulated or caster sugar
- almond extract - you can use vanilla extract if you don't have any, or just omit it
- mincemeat - for filling the pies
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- Cut the butter into cubes.
- Sift the flour in a large bowl, add the cubed butter, and use your fingertips to rub the flour and butter together until it resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the sugar and mix.
- Crack in the egg, add the milk, and knead the dough gently until it's smooth.
- Cover the dough with clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- To make the frangipane, add the soft butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl, and use a hand mixer to cream them
- Add the egg and beat again
- In go the almond extract and ground almonds - beat everything to get a paste
- Flour the work surface, and use a rolling pin to roll the dough to a thickness of 3 mm.
- Use a large cookie cutter (mine is 10cm in diameter) to cut out rounds - reuse the dough until you get 12 rounds.
- Arrange the rounds onto a muffin tin
- Add 1 teaspoon of mincemeat to each muffin hole, then top with a teaspoon of frangipane
- Bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) for 20-25 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean
Expert tips
Chilling the dough before baking the pies prevents it from shrinking too much in the oven - the colder the dough, the better. Do not refrigerate for too long though, as the pastry will be too firm to roll!
Do not overfill the pies with mincemeat, we need to leave room for the frangipane too, otherwise you will end up with very messy pies, where the filling overflows while baking.
If you like festive desserts with a twist, why not try my Mince Pie Tart or my Chocolate Mince Pies? They are incredibly rich and indulgent.
Other mincemeat desserts
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Frangipane Mince Pies
Ingredients
For the sweet pastry
- 150 g plain flour
- 75 g butter, cold from the fridge
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 small egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
For the frangipane
- 100 g ground almonds
- 100 g butter, soften
- 100 g sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- ½ cup mincemeat
Instructions
- To make the pastry, sift the flour into a large mixing bowl, add the cubed cold butter and use your fingertips to rub them together until they resemble breadcrumbs.
- Add the sugar, egg and milk, and knead well to get an elastic dough.
- Cover the dough in clingfilm and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough.
- Use a large cookie cutter (mine is 10cm in diameter) to cut out rounds - reuse the dough until you get 12 rounds.
- Arrange the dough circles onto a 12-hole muffin tin.
- Add a teaspoon of mincemeat to every dough circle.
- To make the frangipane, add the sugar and butter to a mixing bowl and use a hand mixer to cream them.
- Add the egg and beat again, then add the ground almonds and almond extract and beat to get a smooth paste.
- Top each pie with a teaspoon of frangipane, and bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) for 20-25 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow them to cool down completely.
Video
Notes
- Chilling the dough before baking the pies prevents it from shrinking too much in the oven - the colder the dough, the better. Do not refrigerate for too long though, as the pastry will be too firm to roll!
- Do not overfill the pies with mincemeat, we need to leave room for the frangipane too, otherwise you will end up with very messy pies, where the filling overflows while baking.
Nutrition
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Lisa says
I feel like filling the frangipane first into the pies. and put the mincemeat in top. Would there be a reason not to do so?
Daniela Apostol says
I don’t think there are any issues with having the frangipane filling first, the only thing is that if the mincemeat goes on top, they will resemble a jam tart more than a mince pie.
Emily says
Can these be assembled at night, then baked the next morning? Thx!
Daniela Apostol says
Yes, that's absolutely fine, just keep them refrigerated.