25 Days of Christmas Recipes, Day 16: Mince Pie Ice-Cream and Santa’s Sort-Of-Stollen Sacks

Day 16 and we’re firmly routed in Europe on our first bout of puddings/desserts. Mince Pies (which, for all those who don’t know, do not contain meat– minced or otherwise– at least, not any more) are a big part of a British Christmas and were a big part of my Christmas’s growing up. Living in France for a few years now Mince Pies are one of the main things I miss from my Christmas table. Although I’m not a big fan of shop bought ones, I love a homemade Mince Pie. So when coming up with desserts I was trying to come up with new ways to use a jar of mince-meat (again, does not contain meat– contains dried fruit, suet [often vegetarian in the ones I purchase], spices, alcohol and citrus fruits). And then the idea came, why not put it in a homemade ice-cream? If you’re using an ice-cream machine, I would recommend not using a Ninja Creamii as the blades would beat up the whole fruit too much.

The Stollen Sacks, you may notice contains the term ‘Sort-Of’ again (as the Salmon Wellington did on an earlier day). Basically ‘Sort-Of’ is a term I use to say that it’s inspired by the idea of Stollen but is not in fact actual Stollen. Stollen is a German Christmas bread which contains marzipan that runs through the centre. The Stollen Sacks down below also feature marzipan in the centre– hence, the name. As for whether Santa was actually involved in the making of the Sacks? Well, I couldn’t say. Maybe he was. Maybe he wasn’t.

Mince Pie Ice-Cream

Ingredients:

• 2 Egg Yolks
• 20g Brown Sugar
• 20g Caster Sugar
• 1tsp Vanilla Extract
• ½ Orange, zested
• 250ml Full-Fat Milk
• 2tbsp Mincemeat
• Crumbly Biscuit, to top (e.g. Digestives, Sable Breton, Shortbread, Ginger Biscuit etc.)

Method:

1. Put the milk, vanilla extract and orange zest in a medium-sized pan on a medium heat. Allow to simmer until it’s hot, but not boiling.
2. Beat your sugars and egg yolks in a bowl until paler and fluffy.
3. Pour hot milk into the egg mixture, slowly, whisking the entire time until all combined.
4. Put it back in the pan over a medium heat and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture coats the back of the spoon.  Take off heat.
5. Pass through a sieve into a bowl and add the mincemeat.
6. Put in a container with a tight top and put in the freezer, if not using an ice-cream machine.  If using an ice-cream machine follow the instructions for the specific machine.
7. If not using an ice-cream maker, after 45 minutes take out the container and stir the mixture to ensure ice crystals don’t form and put back in freezer.  Continue to repeat this procedure after every 45 minutes, until the mixture is starting to solidify and then start doing it every 30 minutes.
8. Enjoy immediately OR if you’re using your ice-cream a lot later, or eating a few days later, remove from the freezer at least twenty minutes before eating and use an ice-cream scoop dipped in boiling water to serve.
9. Put your biscuits into a plastic bag or deep bowl and break up into different sized pieces. Top your ice-cream with your biscuit.

Santa’s Sort-of-Stollen Sacks

Ingredients:

• 10-12 large sheets of Filo Pastry (sheets 40 x 30 cm)
• 120g Butter, melted
• 1 Pack of Pre-Made Marzipan

FILLING

• 100g Salted Butter
• 100g Caster Sugar
• 100g Ground Almonds
• 2 Medium Eggs
• 10g Plain Flour
• 4 heaped tbsps. Mincemeat
• 60g Flaked Almonds
• ½ tsp Cardamon Powder
• 1tsp Nutmeg Powder
• 1tsp Cinnamon Powder
• 1tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 Lemon, zested

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C/Gas Mark 6.
2. In a large bowl cream together your sugar and butter with a wooden spoon.
3. Crack in your eggs and add a bit of your ground almonds. Beat together until the eggs have fully gone into the mixture.
4. Add your ground almonds and flour and mix until smooth. 
5. Add the rest of your filling ingredients to the bowl and mix thoroughly until it’s all mixed in evenly.
6. Take a sheet of filo pastry and cut it in four and brush each part with your melted butter.
7. On a board put the four rectangles of filo pastry on top of each other at angles so the points form a star.
8. Put in a muffin tray and push the centre gently to the bottom. 
9. Put 1tbsp of filling in the bottom of each filo parcel.
10. Put a 1.5cm x 3.5cm piece of marzipan in the centre of each parcel and top with another tablespoon of the filling.
11. Draw together the tops of the pastry. Pinch the sheets together and twist. It should resemble a sack.
12. When you have finished all the parcels, brush the outside with more melted butter.
13. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin.
14. Enjoy warm with cream or cold with ice-cream (or however you enjoy them).