There is something to be said for chocolate and sweet mincemeat. My two favourite flavours and smells. It is a delightful combination which I have been experimenting with lately. I seem to have acquired several jars of [amazon_textlink asin=’B002AEH6UQ’ text=’sweet mincemeat’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’wwwlovetobake-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’3b2f335d-5cbe-11e7-8d1e-1bf848da63d8′] for some reason and instead of just making the usual mince pies on the run up to Christmas I thought I would try some different recipes on my discerning tasters. At first I thought I would combine some melted chocolate into the mincemeat before filling the pie cases. My idea developed further to using apples, sweet mincemeat and chocolate to make a tart for dinner. This would be enjoyed by my husband and myself but not necessarily my children. For these little cherubs, I am going to combine their favourite brownies recipe with some mincemeat and see what happens. I imagine the brownie mixture will support the mincemeat and the fruit will stay suspended in the brownie and not drop to the bottom on baking. I am banking on these flavours working well together as they do in my chocolate fruit cake which I make for Christmas. I will let you know what these experimental bakes turn out like by the weekend.
This week I have been baking for the school Christmas fair. I baked on the day of the fair but had already decided what I was going to make. By lunch time, I had finished and delivered my baked goods to the school.
In one morning, I managed to bake sweet mince pies, brownies, reindeer cookies, mini cake bars and cake pops. I did not go overboard on the decoration as the time did not allow it. They did sell rather well though so that is all that matters in the end.