1 : minced meat
2 : a finely chopped mixture (as of raisins, apples, and spices) sometimes with meat that is often used as pie filling
3 : a state of destruction or annihilation —used in the phrase make mincemeat of
Mincemeat is one of those things, like fruitcake, that people either love or dread around the holiday season. Me, I love it. I also like fruitcake, and I feel that it has gotten an unwarranted bad rap.
Mincemeat does refer to the fruit meats that make up its composition, but it was originally made with beef suet, so the "meat" part is not as much of a misnomer as people think. Hey, back then, you used the fats that you had - these were not the days of EVOO and imported butter.
I wanted to make something with UK origins for our Book Club last week, since the chosen book was The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies. This month's Delicious magazine featured Mincemeat Pie Cupcakes on the cover, a recipe from The Primrose Bakery in London. I happened to have some sugar wreaths in my stash, so Mincemeat cupcakes it was! For the brandy buttercream frosting, I used a tablespoon of our precious Christmas cognac - it was divine. The cakes were good but needed to be darker and more mincemeaty - I was picturing more of a Christmas pudding, and what I got was similar to a sweet muffin. Nice enough, and as my friend Nicki said, reminiscent of rum raisin ice cream, but I will revisit it and make it even better.
