I guarantee everyone will be asking you to share the recipe because they will want to create something that an uncle or cousin or someone who has a food intolerance or allergy can eat as well. The pastry in this recipe can also be used as a savoury pastry that you can use for pies and quiches. Simply omit the honey and add a few pinches of sea salt.
Sweet Pastry
100 g (1 cup) almond meal
100 g (1/3 cup) coconut flour
60 g (1/2 cup) arrowroot
210 ml coconut oil, chilled
6 tablespoons honey or coconut sugar
2 eggs
Mince Filling
100 g raisins
100 g sultanas
50 g dried cranberries
50 g (1/3 cup) currants
50 g golden sultanas
1 granny smith apple, core removed, finely chopped
100 g pineapple, chopped
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground ginger
zest and juice of 2 oranges
METHOD
1 To make the sweet pastry, mix the almond meal, coconut flour and arrowroot in a bowl. Cut the coconut oil into small pieces and work it into the almond meal mixture using your fingertips to form fine crumbs. Add the honey and eggs and mix until it forms a dough.
2 Transfer to a surface dusted with arrowroot and knead until smooth (the dough will be slightly sticky). Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until it is firm enough to roll out. (The dough can be stored refrigerated for up to 1 week and in the freezer for up to 3 months.)
3 To make the mince filling, place all the ingredients in a saucepan over low heat and stir to combine. Gently simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. (Do not boil or it will burn and become bitter.) Turn off the heat, transfer the mixture to the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times until coarsely chopped. Set aside to cool.
4 Preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease ten 7.5 cm flan tins.
5 Place the dough between two sheets of baking paper and roll out until 5 mm thick. Transfer the pastry and baking paper to the refrigerator, and chill for 5 minutes to slightly firm. Remove the top layer of baking paper and, using a 9 cm round cutter, cut out 10 rounds. Reroll the offcuts and cut out ten 7 cm star shapes.
6 Line the prepared flan tins with the pastry rounds and trim to ensure you have smooth clean edges. Because this dough does not contain gluten it will feel quite different to regular dough and may crack a little more easily. If cracks do form when lining the tins, simply bind the dough together with your fingers to seal. Add 2 tablespoons of mince to each pastry case and spread with the back of a spoon until level. Place a pastry star on top of each pie and transfer the pies to a baking tray.
7 Bake for 15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool before removing from the tins and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
