For the meringue:

• 150g egg white
• 300g caster sugar
• 1tsp mixed spice

• ½ lemon & ½ orange zest 

   

• Sweet short crust pastry
• 10g mincemeat in each case
• 4cm tart case tin

Place the egg whites in a clean food mixer and whisk.

Then add the sugar gradually and whisk rapidly until the mixture forms stiff peaks.

Add the mixed spice and the lemon and orange zest to the mixture and continue whisking.

Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle.

Prepare the pastry by rolling it out thinly on a clean, floured surface. Using the correct sized round pastry cutters, cut the pastry and place in the tin. Then, place 10g of mincemeat into each tart.

Bake in an oven preheated to 175°C (Gas Mark 2) for 6 minutes.

Turn the oven down to 120°C in preparation for the next step.

Remove the baking tin from the oven, then pipe the meringue mixture onto each tart.

Bake at 120°C for 8 minutes until a thin, shell-like crust has formed on the meringue, while the inside remains soft.

This recipe makes 64 mini meringue mince pies