Mince Pies!

Mincemeat (no actual meat was used in the making of these mince pies):
300g mixed dried fruit/cranberries/dried peel (whatever takes your fancy)
1/2 cooking apple (or same amount as dried fruit)
80f unsalted butter - softened
cinnamon stick (remember to take out before dividing up!)
1/2 teaspoon all spice/mix spice
1/2 grated lemon zest
1/2 grated orange zest
200g light brown sugar
200ml (or however strong you want it) of dark rum (or brandy)

Pastry (I used the BBC Good Food easy to make pastry recipe):
225g of unsalted butter at room temp
350g of plain flour
100g caster sugar
pinch of salt
However much mincemeat you like (but don't overfill)
1 small egg
icing sugar to dust
some melted butter to line the tins

Basically for the mincemeat, chop and combine everything together. I placed mine in leftover soup pots for around 2 weeks in a dark, dry place. Occasionally moving them around so the moisture doesn't all stay at the bottom.

For the pastry - follow the instructions. I chose this BBC Good Food recipe because I'm not the greatest at pastry, especially shortcrust. I'm probably as impatient as you can get and believe me when the comments say NOT to add liquid to your pastry. It really does work. Perseverance. It should end up like this:

The key is do exactly as it says. Even when you think it looks a mess!

Alcoholic mince pies. Done!

The first batch - left it in the oven a few minutes more. I'd recommend checking up on them 5min before they're due

Here's some that didn't make it...still tastes delicious though!

Review: Bleeding Heart, French bistro, Farringdon

I command you to make a visit here.

The French Bistro is open at the weekends, with the restaurant open on weekdays - they have different menus and I've had different opinions with the restaurant prices slightly more, but I went to the Bistro and have to say I would definitely come here again.

Tables get fully booked pretty quickly which tells you all you need to know really. Just off Farringdon Road in its own quirky courtyard, it is located in an unassuming place, which for me, makes me like it already. Greeted by authentic French employees, all friendly and attentive, this place just gets better.

Bleeding Heart has just started running set menus - 2 courses for £18 or 3 courses for £21. We shared starters of muscles, snails and salmon blinis. It was the first time I tried snails, and really, the texture is like a mushroom...but I don't like mushrooms, but I didn't mind the snails.

For the main, I had the Confit duck which was delicious, strangely, it wasn't the duck that stuck out - I really enjoyed the savoy cabbage mixed in with the sauce. They also serve rabbit that comes in a cute pastry shape, the steak burger is a pretty decent size with a healthy portion of 'frites', and the pumpkin risotto looked also very appealing - even to a non-vegetarian.

Pastry is made fresh on-site, with the tarts sold out by 8pm on Saturday. We decided to share the dessert amongst five, so came the last lemon tarte, the last raspberry tarte ('tarte du jour'), crème brûlée and profiteroles. All divine, but I would have to say the tarts are the ones you should pick.

Prices are justified for the food we received. It's not the most pocket-friendly for those who want to enjoy a quick dinner, it is definitely something to be enjoyed slowly for the whole evening to soak in every bit of its decor, food, wine and relaxed atmosphere - and for that, I would make a visit to the bistro again, so that I can try out the dishes I didn't have.

4 out 5 eggs.

http://www.bleedingheart.co.uk/

Product News: Joseph Joseph Adjustable Rolling Pin

So the Great British Bake Off has finished (with only a few more days to relive it on iplayer), and winter is well and truly here...but rest assured its certainly not the end of the baking season- it's only just begun! Not only is it the perfect season for pies; hot water crust pies, cornish pasties and of course mince pies its also great for winter biscuits. Try adding warming flavours such as cinnamon and nutmeg to your basic biscuit recipes for an autumn twist on a classic.

What better to help you in your pastry quests than this innovative Joseph Joseph adjustable rolling pin. This nifty kitchen gadget takes the guesswork out of preparing biscuit dough, pizza bases, pie tops, lasagne sheets and filo pastry. It comes with four sets of removable discs that raise the rolling surface by different amounts, to create exactly the required pastry thickness – either 2 mm, 4 mm, 6 mm or 10 mm. This ingenious device also ensures that pastry or dough is rolled to an even thickness throughout and to the exact size required, via measurements etched onto the surface of the rolling pin.

Great if you tend to be a little cavalier with your rolling out! This would also be great as a gift for keen bakers, and can also be found as part of a baking gift set which also includes the elevate pastry brush, elevate spatula pie timer.

RRP: £20 available from the Joseph Jospeph website.