Taken from the method she used to bake traditional pies when she was still in school, this recipe can be followed by everyone.

For the pastry, sift the flour into a bowl, add the softened butter, icing sugar and orange zest and gently incorporate with your hands until the mixture resembles rough breadcrumbs. Mix in the egg yolks and then add 2-3 tablespoons of water to help bring it together. Squeeze the pastry together gently until you have a soft ball of pastry. Flatten to a disc, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Top with frangipane, smooth and sprinkle with flaked almonds and then a tablespoon of castor sugar. Paul’s recipe steers a little more away from your classic pie but is equally delicious. Adding a frangipane pastry to the top of the mincemeat not only offers an alternative taste but also makes the casing look a little more delicate.Make sure you follow the reheating instructions on the box. Of course, you could always simply dust them with icing sugar and serve with a sprig of holly, while throwing another log on the fire and listening to Silent Night... Combine all of the ingredients for the mincemeat in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover with cling film and leave for 24 hours. But some bakers now also use puff pastry for their pies. The main difference is the fat content (puff pastry has more fat) and how simple it is to prepare. Puff pastry requires the baker to layer butter into the pastry to allow for puffing, thus creating a lighter, flakier casing. That's why many at-home cooks tend to buy shop-bought puff pastry rather than making their own. Ensure your mince pies are beautifully baked and presented in our strong but lightweight aluminium Mince Pie Foil Cases. In addition to being oven safe they are also perfect for freezing if you’re batch-baking in advance for Christmas parties meaning you can cook, freeze and reheat all in the same case. Typically baked with a shortcrust pastry, the mince pie as most of us know it has a slightly biscuit like, crumbly texture and is pretty sturdy. Shortcrust is the easiest to make, too – see our recipe above.

And once you’ve mastered those, keep reading. We have some fancier alternative mince pie recipes for you too. If making the pastry by hand, put the flour into a large bowl. Grate in the butter using the coarse grater blade on a box grater. Coat the butter in the flour by lightly mixing it with your fingers. Using your fingertips, lightly rub the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the caster sugar and salt. Using a table knife, stir in the beaten egg mixture to make a rough dough, then turn out onto a lightly floured board and bring together into a ball. Wrap and rest in the fridge as above. Using the uncooked pastry shells, evenly apply around 400g mincemeat for the large tart or 50g to individual tarts and smooth the top. Over-fill your pies and you'll end up with mincemeat that leaks over the top of the pastry and turns into hard, burned bits on your pie tin. 8. Brush each top with a little milk

If you’re a mince pie novice then you’ve come to the right place. Our food editor has opened up her recipe book and given you access to the simplest step-by-step guide there is.