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As the city gets wrapped in tinsel and decked with fairy lights, we’re on a mission to unwrap the ultimate Christmas treat – mince pies. From timeless classics to avant-garde twists, these mince pies are the real festive MVPs. Dig in:

1. Toklas Bakery

 

From the acclaimed bakery at Toklas, you’ll find a fabulously flaky shortcrust pastry encasing mince meat packed with home-candied pomelo peel from the Todolí Citrus Fundacio. Quinces are slowly roasted, before they’re mixed with Bramley and Braeburn apples, a healthy splash of brandy and heady mixed spices. So good, that in 2022 the bakery sold out.

Price: £3.20 to takeaway, £3.90 to eat in

Where: 9 Surrey St, Temple, London WC2R 2ND

2. Pophams

This year, the bakers at Pophams are bringing back their famous mince pies in collaboration with The Kings Ginger, available across all three London bakeries in Islington, London Fields and Victoria Park. Boozy, buttery, flakey and creamy, Pophams’ pies contain a classic mix of currants, raisins, sultanas apple and suet, along with plenty of rich spices, candied peel and citrus that has been steeped in a heady amount of The King’s Ginger. The team feed the mincemeat daily with The Kings Ginger liqueur for two months as it matures. The pastry is laminated with 18 layers of Normandy butter and then filled with Cornish clotted cream mixed with an extra hit of The Kings Ginger liqueur – the perfect croissant-based Christmas treat.

Price: £3.50 each, £20 for 6

Where: Locations here

3. Fortitude Bakehouse

Fortitude’s founder and Head Baker, Dee Rettali, has been fermenting her mince meat for two years – which is why the craft bakehouse’s pies are a cut above the rest. Having gained viral notoriety for their wider menu of ferment-forward bakes, Dee uses miso to kick-start the fermentation process, adding the usual suspects of currants, apples and more and a secret ingredient – Guinness. Baked into the classic shortcrust, fans of Fortitude can also get their hands on a Mince pie galette – a puff pastry masterpiece of almond frangipane topped with mincemeat and custard.

Price: £3.25

Where: 35 Colonnade, Bloomsbury, London WC1N

4. St. JOHN Bakery

Long-awaited and avidly adored, St. JOHN’s mince pies are a thing of legend. The pastry is firm, yet giving, the filling thick and textured, rich with brandy yet never sickly-sweet. It’s with good reason that these beauties boast such a loyal following. Once they’re home, do as Fergus does and eat yours warm with a thick Jersey cream and a pour of Madeira.

Price: £3

Where: Locations here 

5. Ottolenghi

Ottolenghi’s mince pies are a Christmas classic. The pastry is kept flaky and tender thanks to the amount of butter and enriched egg yolks within the recipe. Inside, the mincemeat, made in August for extra maceration time, includes dried fruits, apples, and spices soaked in heaps of rum and brandy for depth of flavour, with lemon zest for an added lift. Find them in all Ottolenghi delis (Chelsea, Marylebone, Spitalfields, Notting Hill and Islington).

Price: £3.40 takeaway, £4.50 eat in

Where: Locations here

6. Ole and Steen 

If it’s an innovative mince pie you’re after, Ole and Steen’s new Mince Pie Social is a British twist on their best-selling Danish treat. The limited-edition festive Social features a blend of Christmas spices and vanilla custard, topped with cinnamon and nutmeg icing, sultanas and candied mixed peel. A great alternative to a traditional mince pie. But if tradition’s what you’re after, look no further than Crumble Mince Pie. A British Christmas classic made with Danish inspiration, the mince pies feature a flaky pastry crust with a persipan base, packed with mincemeat and topped with an almond crumble.

Price: Mince Pie Social: £4.45 a slice, £12.45 for half or £20.95 for a whole Social. Mince pies £2.25 each

Where: Locations here 

7. Blondies Kitchen 

Blondies Kitchen have gone all out with its mincemeat offering, rustling up a mince pie cookie cup (it’s a hybrid and we’re into it). With an outer casing of vanilla cookie dough, the middle is filled with traditional mince dried fruit filling, delicately spiced and utterly delicious.

Price: £34 for 12

Where: Order online 

8. Melrose and Morgan

Melrose and Morgan’s mince pies are award-winning having won a mantelpiece of silverware at the Great Taste Awards over the years. Having attained hero status in their London delis, the mince pies feature a rich, buttery, vanilla-flavoured pastry and Melrose’s signature homemade mincemeat. Even more delicious when accompanied by whipped Somerset Cider Brandy Butter.

Price: £9.95 for a six-pack

Where: Locations here 

9. The Proof 

The reimagined Proof Mince Pie is the meeting of minds between two classics. The bakery’s own booze drenched mincemeat is piled into buttery pastry and then heaped with a fragrant and melt-in-your-mouth orange spiced crumble topping. One won’t be enough. And there’s a gluten-free version too.

Price: £12.50 for a box of six

Where: Online here

Photo credit: Charlie Mckay

10. Pump Street Bakery 

Available online for nationwide delivery, Pump Street Bakery is offering customers around the country the chance to taste the finest Suffolk mince pies this year. The bakers at Pump Street go the extra mile to ensure the flakiest crust and moreish middles, with the hyper-local ingredients playing a pivotal role in adding distinctive flavour and texture. The mincemeat is made using baked apples from High House Farm located just 2 miles from the Suffolk bakery, the oh-so-familiar Vostizza currants found in the synonymous eccles cakes along with raisins, sultanas, lemon and orange peel, and finally a delicate balance of spice and plenty of brandy.

Price: 6 for £18.50, 12 for £37

Where: Order here for nationwide delivery.