Christmas Mince Pie Bread Pudding | Delicious Slimming World Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between mincemeat and Christmas pudding? ›

It is a Christmas Pudding, but instead of adding a lengthy list of spices, fruit, and sugars you are just adding in Mincemeat. Mincemeat, in turn, is actually made up of spices, fruit, and sugars and that is why it is a great 'substitute' in this recipe and a fantastically easy way to make this traditional dessert.

To show off their money, the rich would offer pies in various shapes, such as crescents and hearts, to show off their wealth. They became a popular treat around the festive period thanks to a tradition from the middle ages, which saw people eat a mince pie for 12 days from Christmas day to Twelfth Night.

And some people still ascribe to the belief that eating one mince pie on each of the twelve days of Christmas (between Christmas and Epiphany) will bring good luck. Mince pies receive mixed reviews in modern America, but they were a staple through the 1940s.

25g or Filo Pastry is 3.5 syns, which makes the five grams you need in each mince pie (about 7-8 sheets 2 inches square) a tiny 0.7 syns! Made using egg instead of butter to bind the sheets, and with just half a syn (1tsp) of mincemeat in each they are just 1.2 syns each.

That said, the traditional French Christmas dessert, la bûche de Noël or Yule log, is a glorious concoction of chocolate, cream and sponge, one I would personally choose over a Christmas pudding, which – dense as it is – can be akin to being hit in the stomach by a canonball.

Christmas Pudding (also known as plum pudding or figgy pudding) is a dish as famous as it is misunderstood.

It's a rare American I've bumped into who likes Christmas cake or Christmas pudding. Even rarer is one who likes mince pies. But in England, Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without mince pies. We eat dozens of them in December (and only in December.

By the 18th century it was more likely to be tongue or even tripe, and in the 19th century it was minced beef. It was not until the late Victorian period and early 20th Century that mince pies dropped the meat and had all fruit fillings (albeit with suet). Even today there are traditions associated with mince pies.

Christmas in numbers

Brits eat approximately 175 million mince pies over Christmas, using 175 tonnes of aluminium packaging. The UK uses 227,000 miles of wrapping paper each year.

It has been claimed that eating the snack is illegal in England if done so on Christmas Day. The tradition comes from the time of Oliver Cromwell in the 1650s, when mince pies were banned at Christmas, along with other tasty treats. Cromwell wanted to tackle gluttony in England.

What is the etiquette for mince pies? ›

Going on to how one should formally eat a mince pie, she explains: 'One would pick up the mince pie with a thumb and first finger, and lift [it] away from the plate. 'The mince pie is crumbly, so make sure anything that falls from the mince pie falls onto your plate.

Over the centuries, the historic pies have traveled all over world, ever popular in the U.K. and some parts of Europe, Australia and New Zealand. In the U.S., canned mincemeat filling became popular during the Prohibition era because they had alcohol content.

So what's a pie aficionado to do? Well, if you want to consume fewer calories, go for the pumpkin—it almost always has fewer because of the single crust. You could also take a sliver of both pies.

Mince is a really versatile food when you're on a slimming diet. As you probably know, it's free when you choose 5% fat beef, pork or turkey mince.

So how many Syns is in pastry? Well puff pastry clocks up 5 Syns per 25g, shortcrust 5.5, reduced fat pastry is 4.5 for the same amount, but Filo is just 3 for a 20g sheet. Result! There's something so satisfying about the crispy crunch you get from Filo, and I love how pretty it looks once it's cooked.

By the 18th century it was more likely to be tongue or even tripe, and in the 19th century it was minced beef. It was not until the late Victorian period and early 20th Century that mince pies dropped the meat and had all fruit fillings (albeit with suet). Even today there are traditions associated with mince pies.

In American English, "mincemeat" is a sweet pie filling (I think it's mince pie in BrE) which originally contained some meat but in modern times it is generally made mostly of apples and raisins. It's not very popular anymore, but you sometimes see it around Christmas time.

The mincemeat filling we know and love today includes ingredients like finely chopped dried fruits, candied orange, spices, sugar and nuts. Its name dates back to 15th century England when mincemeat would actually contain meat, unlike today's version found in our beloved modern mince pies.

In the 21st century, the classic ingredients in mincemeat pies are apples, candied citrus peel, raisins, sugar and brandy. Cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg typically spice the mixture. More often than not, mincemeat today doesn't contain actual meat, but it can contain meat.