Easy Apple Fruit Mince Filo Tarts

Even if you’re too busy or not a confident baker, there is no reason to miss out on home baked fruit mince tarts at Christmas. My easy apple fruit mince filo tarts are a lighter and much easier to make version of the Christmas mince tart.

My fruit mince origin story can be found in the intro to my Homemde Fruit Mince recipe. It’s a recipe I’ve been working on for over three decades. Granny smith apples are a core ingredient in my recipe (leaving in the pun, sorry). I’ve moved the fruit mince filling towards an apple pie vibe with the addition of more granny smith apples in this bake.

The filo pastry shells are super crisp and buttery when they come out of the oven. I recommended eating these tarts on the day you bake them to fully enjoy the crisp buttery filo.

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Prep Time 40

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine Australian, Canadian, England, European, UK

Servings 12

Equipment

2 six hole Texas muffin tins
Kitchen scissors
Silicone spatula
Vegetable peeler
Tea towel
Water spray bottle (optional)
Masking tape and pen (optional)

Ingredients

375 g box of filo pastry
250 g unsalted butter
6-7 large granny smith apples
600 g fruit mince – see Homemade Fruit Mince recipe
Icing sugar (optional)

Instructions

Leaving filo pastry in its packaging, bring it to room temperature. About 4 hours if frozen and 2 hours if out of the fridge.

Prepare filling:

Peel and core the apples and cut into roughly 1.5cm slices.
Cook apple slices in batches at 1000w in a microwave for approximately 90 seconds.
Cook each batch in a covered microwave container. with the slices in a single layer.
Check frequently, the apples should be just softened and starting to release juice.
Drain apples on paper towels to absorb the excess moisture.
Once cooled, chop apples into 1.5cm cubes.
Weigh out 600g of chopped apples and stir gently into 600g of fruit mince (1200g of filling).
Set filling aside and prepare the filo tart cases.

Prepare filo tart shells:

Preheat the oven to 160°C fan / 180°C conventional, with oven rack on the bottom rung.
Assemble required equipment before opening the filo package.
Melt the butter in the microwave on a medium in bursts of 10 seconds.
Open the filo package and keep the filo sheets under a tea towel that has been lightly sprayed with water.
To make 12 tart shells crate 12 square stacks consisting of 8 squares of buttered filo pastry.
Each filo square should measure approximately 14 x 14cm. The filo I used ended up being squarish at 14 x 13cm and it worked fine.
Butter one sheet of filo and fold it in half lengthwise, butter in the centre of the fold.
Cut the filo crosswise into three squares of two layers each.
Repeat with another sheet of pastry.
As you go, stack four of the squares on top each other with butter brushed between layer you stack.
Press each stack of 8 sheets of pastry into the Texas muffin tins as you go.
Centre the stack over the hole in the tin and press in gently. Press the excess pastry to the sides of the tin and gently press into the inner edges of the muffin hole.
Leave the corners of the filo square sitting up over the edge of the muffin tin hole at this stage.

Filing and baking tarts:

Each case takes approximately 90-100g of filling.
Fill cases with apple and fruit mince filling to just below the sides of the filo tart shells.
Gently press into place and create a small mound of filling in the centre of the tart shell.
Fold the corners of the filo pastry over the filling, making sure to leave an opening.
Brush the exposed filo with butter.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until the filo pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling.
Remove the apple fruit mince tarts from oven and let cool to room temperature before removing from the muffin tin.
Dust with icing sugar when cooled (optional).

Just before you cook with abandon…

Kitchen scale: If you are going to bake, you need a kitchen scale. It’s really in the necessity column not the optional column. You don’t need to spend a fortune on them, decent ones can be bought for about $70. I find the expensive ones break down just as quickly as the cheaper versions. But I would recommend you go for a known brand from a reputable kitchen shop.

Freezing friendly? This recipe is not one I’d say is truly freezer friendly. Filo pastry is always best eaten at room temperature just after it is baked. As, once it goes into the fridge, it loses its crispness. Unlike regular pastry, it does not crisp up again if reheated in the oven. So, you certainly can freeze any leftover baked tarts but when you reheat them the filo pastry will remain soft and not crispy and flaky.

Vegan friendly. Most filo pastry brands are now vegan and my homemade fruit mince recipe is also vegan. I love the taste of buttery filo but swapping in a vegan margarine for the butter is fine.

Don’t have a microwave? I use the microwave technique to precook the granny smith apple slices but they can also be done in the oven. Bake the apples slices in the oven at 160°C fan / 180°C conventional in a single layer on a baking sheet for 10-15 minutes. Start checking the slices at 5 minutes. You just want them to be softened and start releases juice, you want them to hold their shape when cutting into cubes.

Do I need a specific number of filo sheets? There are several brands of filo pastry on the market in Australia and are sold either refrigerated or frozen. The number of sheets in each box varies according to the brand but the standard weight of a box of filo is 375g. This easy apple fruit mince filo tart recipe is designed so there will be sheets of filo pastry leftover when you’ve finished making the 12 filo tart cases no matter which brand of filo you use. You always want more filo sheets then you need to allow for some wastage.