Pear Mince Pies

These little pies are divine! A great Failsafe diet alternative for fruit mince pies at Christmas time. Leaving them plain on top or a different shape cut with pasty can make them perfect for any occasion. Lovely served at room temperature or heated up with ice cream, custard or Whiskey Cream Sauce for a decadent dessert.

I usually like to cheat and use prepared pastry, but this recipe was very easy to make and work with.

The Pastry:
210g (1 cup) nuttelex
1 x 250g block Philadelphia cream cheese, diced
250g (1 ½ cups) plain flour
45g (1/3 cup) spelt flour

Place all the ingredients into the Thermomix bowl. Mix for 1 minute on closed lid position on interval for TM31 and on kneading function for TM5 .

If you don’t have a Thermomix, mix together the ingredients in a mix master on a low speed until combined.

Cover or wrap the pastry dough in glad wrap and place in the fridge for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a muffin tray.

On a floured surface, divide the dough into 12 even portions.  Roll out each one until it is big enough to fit into a muffin cup. Gently press the dough into the muffin cups, trim off excess with a knife and using your fingers pinch the tops to create a decorative edge.

With any left over pastry, roll out and cut out shapes to go on the top of each tart.

The Filling:
140g (1 cup) cashews
2 tablespoons nuttelex
270g (11⁄2 cups) brown sugar
2 pears, diced. Either fresh peeled or tinned.
2 eggs
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla essence

Place cashews into Thermomix bowl and chop for 2 seconds on speed 6. Set aside.

Add the nuttelex to the bowl and melt at 60 deg for 2 minutes on speed 1. Add the brown sugar, eggs, cashews, pears and vanilla. Mix on reverse speed 1 for 30 seconds. Pour into the pastry cases and divide the mixture evenly between them. Top with a pastry shape.

To make without a Thermomix, melt the nuttelex in the microwave and mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the fillings are set. Allow to cool in the tray for 5 minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge.

Notes:

You could use prepared shortcrust pastry for the base if after a quicker alternative.

My rustic pies ready for the oven.