Eggnog Brioche Mincemeat Tarts

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Hi!

It’s Day 2 or my first annual Bakemas! As I as thinking about what I wanted to bake this month, I was channeling all my family traditions and places I’ve traveled and that lead me to thinking about micemeat tarts!

I have spent two Christmas’s in England and during both those holidays, I fell in love with mincemeat. When I had my first one, I can still remember be highly confused as to why I wasn’t biting into some sorta savory, gravy like meat pie (although some mincemeat does have actual meat in the recipes). I quickly learned that what mincemeat tarts (and pies) were and I became enamored with them. Fruity, boozy, muddled spice and all things nice, the flavors of mincemeat truly do evoke the feeling of holidays for me. I can see why it’s such a British holiday classic. To learn more about mincemeat, click here!

I wanted to play with the traditional mincemeat tart. Instead of using the classic hot water short crust, I opted to bake the filling brioche! This brioche recipe is an adaptation from a recipe I found scribbled on that back of a recipes in my Nana’s recipe box. I took some time to develop it to my tastes, like using salt in the recipe.. face palm, but the end results are now what I call my “Brioche Base Recipe”. The eggnog aspect of this recipe happened by chance. I was out of whole milk and, tbh, was to lazy to walk to the store so I used eggnog instead because I had some in the refrigerator. I’m so so so happy for this happenstance as the dough has all the amazing notes of eggnog yet still behaves the same as my recipe with whole milk.

The buttery soft brioche complements the boozy robustness of the mincemeat. Like traditional mincemeat tart and pies, the filling is the star of the show and I do feel I captured that aspect, yet adding my own twist for this holiday season. I hope you enjoy these as much as I am right now. I may or may have eaten two while writing today.

If you do bake these brioche tarts, and I hope you do, I’d love to share in the moment with you. Tag me on instagram @foxandcrane and use my hashtag #foxandcrane so I may see your Mincemeat brioche Tarts!

xo -Jase

…Good to Knows…

• I love the overnight, cool proofing for this recipe. I feel the time in the refrigerator allows for better flavor development. However, this recipe can be done all in one day if you are pressed for time. Allow the dough to fully double in the first rise, then proceed to de-gassing and shaping. For the second rise, after shaping, you may need to cut the proofing time by half. Then continue with the baking instructions below.

• This dough was based off a recipe I discovered from my Nana’s collection of recipes. I have modified it to better suit my taste and use. It is a very soft dough as it has over 75% dairy and 25% butter. For these reasons, at times, the dough is going to feel very soft and wet. NO NEED TO FEAR! Trust me when I say it will come together as it continues to mix. Patience is a virtue and you will need that for mixing this dough.

• Mincemeat is one of those things that if you know, you know! I have loved it for years, ever since I spent a Christmas in London. One note for making it is that allowing it to rest is vital. You can make this filling days, or even weeks, in-advance to allow the favors to truly develop.

• This mincemeat recipe will make more that you will need for this recipe but since it can live in the refrigerator for up to a year, I felt it was worth your time to make a little extra to have on hand incase you have a quick mincemeat craving, perhaps with a charcuterie and cheese board! Since it only gets better with age, this is ideal to have in the back of your refrigerator.

• If you do bake these, I’d love to share in the moment with you. Tag me on instagram @foxandcrane and use my hashtag #foxandcrane so I may see your baking adventures. 

…Provisions…

Surface: Erickson Surfaces
Sheet Pan: Vintage Ovenex
Linen: Fog Linen

For a full list of recipes, check out the Recipe Index

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Eggnog Brioche Mincemeat Tarts

…makes 10 brioche tarts…

Eggnog Brioche Dough
437g bread flour
37g granulated white sugar
11g kosher salt
11g instant yeast (approx 1 1/2 packets)
332g eggnog
1 large brown egg
1 large brown egg yolk
113g (1/4c or 1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes

Mincemeat Filling
120g golden raisins, divided
120g dried cherries, divided
120g fried figs
120 dried apricots
60g candied ginger
1 large firm apple (approx 178g) peeled, uniformly diced
1 large orange (approx 260g) peel on, roughy chopped
1 large lemon (approx 104g) peel on, roughy chopped
113g (1/4c or 1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
200g (1 cup) dark brown sugar
80g (1/3 cup) boiled cider
1 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tbsp (1/2 inch) fresh ginger, grated
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 ground white pepper, or black pepper
160ml (2/3 cup) spiced rum

Oat Streusel (Optional)
42g (3 tbsp) unsalted butter, cubed
50g dark brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp allspice
50g all-purpose flour
40g rolled oats, coarsely chopped

Spiced Rum Simple Syrup
45g (3 tbsp) granulated white sugar
15ml (1 tbsp) boiling water
15ml (1 tbsp) spiced rum, divided

…METHOD…

Mincemeat Filling
In the bowl of your food processor, add half of the golden raisins and cherries, and the remaining dried fruit. Pulse the fruit for 20-30 seconds. Add the chopped fruit to a medium sized sauce pan. Now add the remaining whole golden raisins and cherries to the medium sauce pan.

Using the same food processor bowl, add the chopped orange and lemon and pulse those until it is fully pureed. Approx 30 seconds. Add the puree to the medium sauce pan. Now add the remaining ingredients and 80g spiced rum.

Now, over medium-low heat, heat the mixture for 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid in the pan as evaporated. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining spiced rum and allow to cool completely before placing in to a air-tight container.

Mincemeat may be stored, in an air-tight container, refrigerated for up to 1 year.

Eggnog Brioche Dough
As always, weigh out, gather and prepare all ingredients prior to mixing. In a small pan, pour in eggnog and place on low heat until eggnog just starts to bubble. Be careful not to scald or burn eggnog. Remove pan from heat. You are aiming for the milk mixture to be 110-120 degrees F.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, pour in warmed eggnog, sprinkle active yeast over eggnog, lightly stir and set aside for 10 minutes.

Now sift the flour, sugar, and salt into a large mixing bowl. In a separate small bowl, lightly beat eggs and set aside. 

After 10 minutes, the yeast should have bubbled up and doubled in size. Place the bowl on the mixer fitted with the dough hook and add your sifted dry ingredients and eggs. On low speed, mix dough for 2-3 minutes until all flour has be incorporated. Turn mixer up to medium speed and mix for another 10 minutes. 

At about the 10 minute mark, you will know the dough is ready by noticing that the dough has become a smooth ball around the dough hook and has separated from the sides of the bowl. Another test is known as the window pane. To lean more about that technique, click here.

Now on low speed, begin to add the butter, a few tablespoons at a time, ensuring that the butter has been incorporated before adding more. This should take about 3-5 minutes. Once the butter has been fulling incorporated, turn mixer up to medium speed and mix for another 10-15 minutes. Note: the dough will look separated and very sticky after the butter, this is expected. As the dough continues to mix, it will comeback together.

Once the dough has become smooth and silky to the touch, perform another window pane test to ensure the gluten has fully developed.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface and hand-kneed for a few turns while forming it into a ball. Now spray your mixing bowl with non-stick cooking spray or lightly oil the bowl with cooking oil. Place dough back into the mixing bowl, cover with cling wrap and proof in a very warm place for 1 hour. After it has proofed for an hour, place the bowl of dough into the refrigerator to finish proofing overnight. I like using slow, overnight cool proofing to allow all the flavors to truly have time to mingle with each other before shaping into the tarts and baking.

Oat Streusel
Place the butter in a small pan over medium heat. Heat the butter, stirring occasionally, until the butter has melted. Remove pan from the heat and add the remaining ingredients, mixing well with a rubber spatula until everything is incorporated and you have pebble to pea size pieces. You may use your hands to mix if you'd prefer. Allow to cool.

Transfer streusel to a air-tight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

Spiced Rum Simple Syrup
In a small bowl, mix sugar and boiling water until sugar has fully dissolved. Add spiced rum and stir till fully incorporated. Set aside. This may be stored in the refrigerator for many months.

…ASSEMBLY and SERVE…

Line two baking trays with parchment paper. Remove dough from refrigerator and turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. De-gas the dough by punching it several times, and shape it into a rectangle. Now weigh the dough on a digital scale, dividing the weight of the dough by 10 (or up to 15). This will give you the size of each bun. This recipe should bake you 10 (95g) buns, however you may opt to have larger or smaller buns, so use this method to find the bun quantity and size of your choice.

Now cut the dough with a bench scraper or knife your desired portions. Shape each portion by rolling it tightly into a ball. Once you have all the dough rolled into balls, roll the balls into 4 inch disks, using a lightly floured rolling pin. Arrange them on your prepared baking trays. Ideally, I like to do 5 per half sheet tray. Be sure to leave some space between them as they will double in size during baking.

Lightly cover the buns with cling wrap and place them in a very warm spot of your home for about 1 - 1.5 hours, or until the dough looks like it has plumped up and springs back when lightly pressed.

At this time, preheat oven to 350°f / 180°c with rack in the center position. Remove cling wrap. With lightly floured fingers, press into the centers of the dough and create a well for the mincemeat filling. You are looking to have the dough resemble mini pizzas. Now brush the dough with egg wash and scoop (approx 75g) mincemeat filling into the center of each, pressing it towards the edge. Sprinkle with oat streusel and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the brioche tarts turn a rich, golden brown.

Remove from oven and brush the mincemeat centers with the spiced rum simple syrup. Allow to cool slightly before eating as the mincemeat i very hot. Enjoy!

Mincemeat brioche tarts can be stared in an air-tight container for 2 days!

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