festive frangipane squares

Festive Frangipane Squares

(makes one 35cm x 25cm rectangular tin, that can be cut into 12-24 squares)
 
I love a good mince pie and have usually got through my bodyweight before Christmas has even begun. Trouble is, I've been spoilt.  My mother and grandmother before her always made their own mincemeat and mince pies. I've rarely found a shop-bought one I like.

So, every year I make enough to satisfy the hordes a couple of weeks before Christmas. And if you get through as many as we do here, that’s an awful lot of fiddly cases to make.

So this year, step up the tray bake...

...and add a delicious frangipane layer to make it even easier! 
 

Ingredients
 
For a deep tray 25cm x 35cm:
1 batch sweetcrust pastry (or cheat and buy this):
125g salted butter, softened
75g icing sugar, sifted
1 medium egg
250g plain flour
 
1 batch frangipane:
225g butter, softened
225g caster sugar
225g ground almonds
4 eggs
Zest ½ lemon (optional)
 
1 large jar (approx. 800g) good quality mincemeat.*
 
1 batch oat crumble topping:
125g cold butter, grated
75g golden or light brown sugar
125g plain flour
75g oats
 
*Note on mincemeat: If you don’t have homemade, buy the best you can or pep up a cheap one with a dash of Armagnac, rum or similar and add some orange or clementine zest. Cheap mincemeat tends to be overly sweet, as sugar is a cheap ingredient, so you’ll need to balance it. You could also add a little clementine and lemon juice. Mix well before using, and taste. Add more mixed spice if it needs it and then use, leaving any excess liquid behind.
 
 
Method
 
First the pastry: cream together until well combined, the icing sugar and softened butter, then add the egg and finally fold in the flour. You’ll need to get your hands involved at the last to press together and form a dough. Flatten the ball of dough into a 1-2cm thick disc, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30mins. When rested, roll out to the thickness of a £1 coin, cut to shape and place in the bottom of a lined and greased rectangular tin. Clump together the offcuts, re-wrap and chill – we’ll use the leftovers in the crumble topping. Prick base all over with fork, and re-chill for 30 mins. Heat oven to 180C (160 fan). Cover base with baking paper, weighted down with coins or beans and bake for about 20-25mins. If not fully baked after this time, remove paper and give another 5-10 mins. Whilst cooling, prep your frangipane and crumble topping.
 
For the frangipane: cream together the softened butter and sugar, then add your eggs and ground almonds. The mixture should resemble a regular sponge mix. If a little loose at this stage (because of the varied size of an egg), just add a tablespoon or so of plain flour or more ground almonds.
 
For the crumble topping: using a hand whisk or food processor on pulse, mix your butter and sugar together so that it is still clumpy and not creamed. If using a food processor, blitz in the flour – you want it clumpy – but I like to add the flour by hand, making lumpy breadcrumbs, then add oats. If your crumble is too fine because it’s been overdone, add a teaspoon of cold water and clump in together with your hands to make it lumpier. Finally, take out the leftover pastry (this is essentially a biscuit mix) from the fridge and coarsely grate it into your crumble. Waste not, want not!
 
Now assemble: Take the cooled pastry base, add a good layer of mincemeat (leaving behind excessive liquid if you have ‘doctored’ it), next cover with frangipane and finally the crumble topping.

​Place in the oven and bake for 35-45 mins until golden and springy to the touch. As ever, your probe thermometer is useful here. At 94C+ and it’s nicely baked inside. Less than 90C, give it a couple more minutes. At 98C+ it’s beginning to dry out.

If you don't have a thermometer, when cooked, the frangipane will appear golden and ‘risen’ and a toothpick or skewer will come out clean. Remember, if your tray is bigger and your frangipane more thinly spread, it will take less time to cook.
 
Allow to cool in the tray and divide up with a sharp knife into squares or rectangles. A good liner should mean it comes out easily, but easing each slice out with a slim blunt nosed knife will help.

The almonds make a nice moist topping so, stored in an airtight container and kept in a cool larder, they should easily keep a week or more.