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Christmas means mince pies and Christmas cake right? Whilst I love both of those recipes I also enjoy putting exciting twists ontraditional options by addinga little…something extra.

Puff pastry always sounds like a scary recipe, something we avoid, something to be bought and not made. Why would you make it when you can buy it? As much as I think shop-bought puff pastry is a valuable tool, in my opinion, it doesn’t always have the best flavour or texture. This homemade version is a rough puff, a cheat’s puff pastry, a quick version that is worth skipping the supermarket for. There are a couple of different ways of making rough puff and for today’s recipe I have gone with the easiest version. The resulting pastry puffs like traditional puff pastry but even if you screw it up a little you’ll end up with a flaky pastry which is equally good for this recipe, so don’t sweat it, I’ve got you. To make the pastry more than simply a vessel for the filling I am using a blend of Doves Farm Organic Wholemeal Rye Flour and Plain Flour. I would use 100% rye flour for other bakes but it doesn’t have the same amount of gluten as other flours, which can mean it’s trickier to use to make puff pastry. It also tends to absorb more water and can become brittle and trickier to roll out when used solely on its own. For this rough puff I found a 50/50 blend gave a nice texture and a vastly improved flavour compared to regular puff pastry made solely with plain white flour. The rye adds a real warmth and depth of flavour that works brilliantly in this recipe and pairs beautifully with the spices in the mincemeat.

Yes, it’s Christmas so I am still using mincemeat. This puff pastry braid is filled with a simple pastry cream and topped with mincemeat. Those of you that find mincemeat too sweet or rich - this is for you. The custard mellows out the flavour a little and gives a wonderful vanilla tone to the dish, but still keeps all those Christmas spices we love, just in a slightly more subtle way. Whilst I will make mince pies each and every year this braid may be my new favourite way of using mincemeat.

For the decoration of the puff pastry braid I kept it simple, using a liberal sprinkling of demerara sugar to add a little sparkle. If you want something more you could also add flaked almonds which would work brilliantly with the filling (you could also add a few drops of almond extract to the custard if you are an especially big almond fan). Whilst this is a dessert it reminds me a little of a Danish pastry, so I won’t stop you if you fancy serving this for breakfast over the Christmas period, just save me a slice if you do.

Doves Farm Organic Plain White Flour and Wholemeal Rye Flour is available at Ocado, Sainsburys, Tesco

Wholemeal Rye Flour Rough Puff Pastry
115g Doves Farm Organic Plain Flour
115g Doves Farm Organic Wholemeal Rye Flour
200g unsalted butter, diced and chilled
1/2 tsp salt
100-120ml ice cold water

Mincemeat and Custard Filling
250ml whole milk
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
100g caster sugar
25g cornflour
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
150g mincemeat

To make the pastry place the plain flour, rye flour and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a couple times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until broken up a little but there are still large chunks of butter showing. Tip the flour mixture into a large bowl and drizzle in the water a couple tablespoons at a time, stirring with a butter knife. When enough water has been added for the mixture to start clumping together use your hands to briefly bring together as a uniform dough. Press into a flat rectangle, wrap with clingfilm, and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

As this is a cheat’s puff pastry the lamination has no additional butter but this folding does help to increase the layering in the finished dough. On a lightly floured worksurface roll out into a rectangle that is roughly 15cm by 45cm. With the short side of the rectangle facing you fold the dough in thirds, like you are folding a business letter. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Repeat this rolling and folding twice more before refrigerating the dough a final 20 minutes (or overnight) before using.

To make the custard place the milk into a medium sized saucepan and bring just to a simmer. Meanwhile place the egg, yolks, sugar, cornflour and vanilla into a large bowl and whisk together until smooth and pale. When the milk is at temperature pour over the egg mixture, whilst whisking to prevent it from curdling the eggs. Pour this custard back into the pan and over medium/high heat whisk constantly until the custard has thickened and is bubbling. Scrape the finished custard into a clean bowl. Press a sheet of clingfilm onto the surface of the custard and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before using.

Preheat the oven to 190C (170C fan) and lime a baking tray with parchment paper.

To assemble roll out the pastry until just bigger than a 35cm x 30cm rectangle, trimming to size. Place the pastry in front of you, horizontally, so one of the longer sides is facing you. Use a knife to score the dough into thirds vertically (see step by step video for reference). With the two outer thirds make 1 inch wide cuts, on a slight diagonal to make strips, removing the corner strips.

Spread the custard filling over the central third of the pastry, leaving the top and bottom flaps of pastry clear. Dot the mincemeat on top of the custard. Fold the top and bottom flaps of pastry up and over the filling and then taking alternate strips, from side to side, braid the pastry strips over the filling. Brush the finished pastry with a beaten egg and sprinkle liberally with demerara sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes or until the pastry is a deep golden brown.

Remove and allow to cool fully before serving. Best served within a day or two.