Perfect Christmas recipes: Mince Pies and Chocolate Fondant from Lyle’s and Sixtyone

As the last weekend before Christmas comes to an end, those responsible for Christmas lunch this year frantically scour the web and back-dated recordings of cooking programmes to find the ultimate set of crowd-pleasing recipes.

We asked two of London’s hottest chefs, James Lowe of Lyle’s and Arnaud Stevens of Sixtyone, to give us a helping hand in creating two show-stopping dessert finales this Christmas at home.

Both dishes are currently available at their restaurants if you want to try them firsthand.

Lyle’s Mince Pies

Serves: 12
Prep and cooking time: 4 hours and 15 minutes

What you need:

Mince meat

300g chopped apples
350g sultanas 
350g currants
250 soft dark brown sugar
400g mince beef
300g suet
2 oranges (zest and juice)
2 lemons (zest and juice) 
125ml brandy
125ml rum 
50ml port 
Nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice – to taste 

Sweet pastry

375g flour
225g butter
150g sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk 

What you need to do:

1. For the mince meat, gently fry the mince. Then, combine all ingredients and cook them at 120 degrees for two hours, stirring regularly.
2. For the pastry, pulse the flour, butter and sugar in a food processor.
3. Beat the egg and egg yolk together and add slowly to the mix in the food processor until it forms a ball. 
4. Wrap in cling film and chill for two hours. 
5. Roll out the dough to a third of a centimetre. 
6. Depending on the size or your Yorkshire pudding or muffin tin, cut one large circle to line the base, fill generously with mince meat. 
7. Cut a smaller circle, egg wash the underside and seal the top of the pie. 
8. Make a hole in each pie using a skewer, egg wash, and bake at 200 degrees for 15 minutes.

Top tip: use aged mince beef and fat for extra yumminess but normal beef is just as tasty. You can use any apple but if you happen to come across Russet apples, pick some of those up.

Sixtyone’s signature Chocolate Fondant

Serves: 10
Prep and cooking time: one day

What you need:

250g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
125g butter
125g sugar
5 eggs
5 egg yolks
55g soft flour

Praline Ganache

200g UHT whipping cream
200g milk chocolate
300g praline

What you need to do:

1. Melt your chocolate and butter over a light simmer bain-marie.
2. Whip up the egg yolks, with the sugar.
3. Add the melted chocolate and butter to your egg yolks and sugar. Fold in the flour. 
4. For the praline, bring the cream up to the boil, pour in the chocolate, whisk in your praline. Allow to set the day before.
5. Take a scoop of the praline ganache, pour half of the fondant mix into a stainless steel ring add the ganache into the centre, then add more mix on top of the ganache.
6. Place fondants in the oven at 180 degrees for 5 mins.

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