1. Preheat your oven to 180ºC/170ºC fan.
2. Using a pastry cutter, make 12 pastry cases from your ready made shortcrust pastry and gently push each into a floured, shallow bun tin.
3. Spoon your mincemeat mix into each case, being careful not to overfill.
4. Add the egg, flour, milk, butter, vanilla essence and sugar into a bowl. Using the Dualit Hand Mixer and Flat Beater attachment, whisk the ingredients together to form a smooth batter for the sponge topping.
5. Carefully place a spoonful of your cake mixture on top of the mincemeat filling for each pie.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes. We'd recommend checking halfway through and lightly covering the top of the mince pies with foil, allowing them to cook, but not burn.
7. Remove the mince pies from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
8. Dust with icing sugar and serve while still warm and fresh out of the oven.

Top Tips...

• Placing the foil on top of the mince pies half way through cooking will ensure the sponge does not over cook and remains a lovely, light, golden colour. An alternative method for this would be to bake the mince pies for 15 minutes before taking them out of the oven, spooning the sponge mixture on top and baking for a further 10-15 minutes until risen and golden.