Mincemeat Crumble Slice (vegan, dairy free, egg free and nut free)

Yum

I know mincemeat slice doesn't sound very vegan, but honestly, this is mincemeat in the sweet sense; made of sultanas, raisins, apples and peel mixed with spices and is a staple of Christmas cooking in the UK.

I like this recipe for mincemeat from Pig in the Kitchen, but I've found most supermarket brands are actually vegan anyway.

I love making mince pies at Christmas time - I don't allow myself to do it until the 1st December though as it makes me feel Christmas is fully on the way then.  This mincemeat slice, however, is a lot less hassle, much faster and tends to be cooked as soon as I get my hands on a big jar of mincemeat in the supermarket!

Mincemeat Crumble Slice

Ingredients

500g Self Raising Flour
200g sugar
250g non-dairy margarine (I use solid Stork or Pure Spread)
100ml non-dairy milk, divided
600g mincemeat (about 1 and a 1/2 jars)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C

1.  Place the self raising flour, sugar and margarine in a Classic Batter bowl.  Use a Pastry Blender (my new favourite add on!) or a Mix n Masher to mix them together to create a sandy, breadcrumb mixture.

2.  Remove half the mix to another bowl.  Add 60ml non dairy milk to one of the bowls and mix it all together with your hands to create a dough.  Press this into the bottom of a Medium Bar Pan and smooth out to create the bottom layer.

3.  Spread the mincemeat across the layer of pastry and smooth out so there is an even layer.

4.  Now take the other half of the crumb mix and add 40ml non dairy milk.  You want to now create a rubble style of crumble with this, not a single ball but lots of little bits, so get your hands in and get squishing!  Spread this evenly across the mincemeat and put in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

5.  Leave in the bar pan to cool for about 15-20 minutes before cutting or it will crumble.  Use a Mini Serving Spatula to remove from the bar pan and serve. This keeps well in a sealed container for 3-4 days.

Have you decided on pudding for Christmas Dinner yet? It should definitely feature IceDelight!

I'm in my local Real Foods store in Edinburgh on a regular basis and a few weeks ago they asked if I would like to do another product review for them (I did one back in June which you can see here).  It was such fun last time I was delighted to have another go.  Boy am I glad I said yes! Would I review IceDelight for them?  Yes of course!

I went along to the store to collect my IceDelight which comes in tiny little 100ml tubs and larger 500mls.  I was expecting some little ones....what I got was the selection you see here and wow we have had fun trying out all sorts of things with these yummy treats.

IceDelight is made at Belhaven Fruit Farm by the lovely Mark Rennie who I had the pleasure of meeting several years ago at one of the food festivals in Edinburgh.  Belhaven Fruit Farm is just down the coast from us here in Edinburgh, near Dunbar where they grow fabulous fruits for pick your own, and sell their yummy treats in the shop.  (I can highly recommend them for strawberry picking next year!)

IceDelight itself is dairy free, egg free, gluten free and fat free, and made without artificial colours or flavours.  They taste great and even count towards your 5 a day! The five flavours are Strawberry, Raspberry, Blackcurrant, Gooseberry & Elderflower and Lemon.  In various taste tests with the family we had no outright winner.  I love the Raspberry for its straightforward flavour, Mr Robb liked the Gooseberry and Elderflower which we hadn't tasted before, our eldest enjoys Strawberry or Blackcurrant the most, and surprisingly the littlest loves the lemon, although couldn't make up her mind on her favourite.

We went a little bit Ice Delight wild here and I added it to puddings such as apple crumble, we had straightforward cones, dairy free knickerbocker glories, strawberry daiquiris, IceDelight tarts, ice cream cakes and more.

Brown sugar mini cupcakes (vegan) topped with Strawberry, Raspberry and Lemon flavour IceDelight

So what will we be having for pudding for Christmas Dinner this year? I still don't know, but it will feature a healthy helping of IceDelight!

Cheers! An awesome Strawberry daiquiri made with Rum and Strawberry IceDelight!

White Chocolate Festive Fudge

Here we go, a recipe direct from Pampered Chef, and as promised to many people at the Haddington Christmas Market today!

Ingredients:

1	orange
400g	white chocolate, chopped
200ml	sweetened condensed milk
100g	coarsely chopped toasted pecans, divided
75g	sweetened dried cranberries, divided
85g	coarsely chopped dried apricots, divided
1	tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:

1. Line Small Sheet Pan with a piece of Parchment Paper, allowing about 1 in. (2.5 cm) to extend past sides. Zest orange with Microplane® Adjustable Fine Grater to measure 2 tsp. Place chocolate and condensed milk in Large Micro-Cooker®; microwave on HIGH 2-3 minutes or until chocolate is mostly melted, stirring every minute. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add 75g of the chopped pecans, and half each of the cranberries and apricots, all of the orange zest and vanilla; mix well.
2. Spoon chocolate mixture evenly over parchment; spread evenly using Large Spreader. Top fudge with remaining pecans, cranberries and apricots; press lightly. Refrigerate several hours or until firm.
3. Lift parchment and fudge from pan. Cut into squares. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator up to 3 weeks. (Do not freeze.)

Yield: 30 servings
Nutrients per serving: Calories 120, Total Fat 7 g, Saturated Fat 3 g, Cholesterol 5 mg, Sodium 20 mg, Carbohydrate 14 g, Fiber 1 g, Protein 2 g
Cook's Tips: For a perfect party favor or place setting, place fudge in a Simple Additions® Petite Square. Wrap with cellophane, tie with a ribbon and a gift tag.

Any combination of nuts and dried fruit would work well in this recipe

I left the nuts out for the one I made for the fair today and it was pretty fabulous.  I did add in a little more apricots and cranberries to make up for it.