This easy fruit mince recipe is quick to make and can be used straight away as a last minute fruit mince, or kept so the flavours can deepen more over time. Using your favourite dried fruit, and with a touch of spice and citrus zest, it's perfect for all of your Christmas baking recipes.
½cupbrandy or rumsee notes for alcohol-free options
1Tablespoonbrandy or rum, extra
Instructions
Prepare the fruit: Roughly chop the dried fruit - aim for some smaller pieces and some bigger (or whole) pieces for the best texture. Chop the glace cherries and/or mixed peel, if using.You can use a food processor to chop the fruit, just be sure to pulse it briefly and then check the consistency to make sure you don't turn it into a paste.
Place all the dried fruit, brown sugar, mixed spice, cinnamon, nutmeg and/or cardamom (if using) and jam or golden syrup into a medium saucepan that has a lid.
Peel, core and then coarsely grate the apples. If you’re using a food processor, you can blitz the apples in there, or use the shredder/grater attachment.Add the grated apple, along with the brandy (or other alcohol, or orange juice if making alcohol-free fruit mince) to the pan, and mix to combine all of the ingredients well.
Zest and juice the orange or lemon. Add all of the zest and 2 tablespoons of the juice to the pan.
Bring to a gentle simmer on the stove, then cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes, lifting the lid and stirring 2-3 times, until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Stir in the extra 1 tablespoon of brandy, then cover with the lid again and leave to cool.
Storage
If planning to use the fruit mince within a week, it can simply be stored in an airtight container. For longer storage, place it in a sterilised jar while the fruit mince is still hot.The fruit mince can be stored in the fridge for 6+ months.
Notes
Dried fruit - You can use any combination of dried fruit that you like to make up the 500g. I used 200g sultanas (golden raisins), 200g raisins and 100g currants. You could also use dates, prunes, dried apricots dried cranberries, or dried figs. Alternatively, you can buy a ready-made dried fruit mixture.You can use either golden syrup or a jam like apricot or plum in this recipe.Spices - Mixed spice is a common spice mixture used in sweet baking in the UK, NZ and Aus. It can be replaced with pumpkin spice mix, or any combination of your favourite ground spices.Alcohol free fruit mince - Replace the rum with the same amount of orange juice or apple juice.