If mince pies are your thing, this is a winning pudding at Christmas. The chopped apple gives the dried fruit a welcome edge, while the crumble adds texture. If you don’t want to make the custard from scratch, add a splash of brandy to shop-bought custard. The trick is to make sure the topping fully covers the filling; otherwise, if left too exposed, the mincemeat will caramelise quite quickly and turn jammy.
Mincemeat crumble with brandy custard
I prefer to use a mincemeat with suet because it helps to bind the base, though if need be you can replace it with vegetarian suet, which is widely available in supermarkets.
Prep 25 min
Cook 35 min
Serves 4
220g mincemeat
180g bramley apples, peeled and cut into 1¼cm cubes
Juice of 1 large orange
65g jumbo oats
60g plain flour
A big pinch of salt
90g unsalted butter, cubed
70g caster sugar
For the brandy custard
250ml whole milk
250ml double cream
60g caster sugar
5 egg yolks
A pinch of salt
15ml brandy
Zest of 1 orange
Heat the oven to 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5 and butter a 20-25cm baking dish. In a large bowl, combine the mincemeat, chopped apples and orange juice, mix well, then spread evenly in the base of the dish.
In another bowl, mix the oats, flour and salt, rub in the cubed butter until the mix resembles coarse breadcrumbs, then mix in the sugar.
Spread the crumble evenly over the fruit filling in the baking dish, then bake for 25-30 minutes, until the crumble is golden brown and the filling bubbling.
Meanwhile, make the custard. Put the milk and cream in a saucepan on a low to medium heat, until warm but not boiling. In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar, egg yolks and salt until well combined. Gradually pour the warm cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture, stirring continuously. Return the custard base to the pan and cook on a low heat, stirring all the time, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon; be careful not to overheat, or the custard might curdle.
Take the custard off the heat and stir in the brandy and orange zest, then serve with the warm mincemeat crumble. Merry Christmas!
