Heston Night Before Christmas Mince Pies (Waitrose) By @Cinabar

Oh Heston I never quite know what to make of you. I like different, this blog is helped because I like different things and new varieties but the items from Heston can go either way. I have never once eaten a mince pie and thought that needs carrot but here we are, Heston thinks they do. Or at least he thinks it would be fun to add a bit of carrot for Rudolph and Sherry for Santa and include them in the recipe as part of a Christmas Eve theme. I bought them even thought I was unsure because well, what else could I do.

Inside the box are six pies, they are quite large and don’t quite look like tradition mince pies, they are covered over in pastry, and are flatter than usual. There was also a sachet of smoked sugar, I don’t how that fits into the Christmas Eve theme, Santa in a smokey chimney perhaps? I started by opening that and sprinkling it on, the smell was a little too strong of smoke for my liking but I was trying to buy into the moment.

Thankfully the sugar didn’t add too much smoke to the flavour, the pastry is thick but sweet and tasty. The mince meat came with a hit of sherry and was delicious, there was a delicate bitter edge which I think was carrot and these worked. Mainly because the smoked sugar wasn’t too strong! Heston I apologise for doubting you, this one was a success. You made it sound exciting but didn’t really mess with the traditional flavours too much and this worked for me. I would actually buy them again!