Vegan Mincemeat Crumble Traybake

A festive patterned plate with mincemeat crumble traybake bars on top and small hessian plant pot to side.

Course: Afternoon tea, Dessert, Party, picnic, pudding

Cuisine: British

Prep Time: 25

Cook Time: 35

Total Time: 1

Servings: slices or 24 small squares

Calories: 353kcal

Author: Jacq

This Vegan Mincemeat Crumble Traybake is adapted from a Bero recipe from their 41st edition of the annual Bero cook books.

This type of bake is also known as Crumble Bars, Mincemeat Crumble Slice, Fruit Crumble Slice, Mince Pie Crumble Bars or Slice, or Mincemeat Streusel Slice or Bars.

Our dairy-free mincemeat crumble traybake can be sliced into 12 bars or 24 smaller squares and are delicious easy mince pie alternatives.

Print Recipe

US Customary - Metric

Equipment

Baking pan around the size - 11 x 7 x 1¼ inch [28 x 13 x 3 cm]
Baking paper. [parchment paper]
Mixing bowl
mixing spoon
small spatula

Ingredients

280 grams self-raising flour [or plain/all-purpose flour with 1½ teaspoons of baking powder sifted through and a few pinches of salt mixed through]
225 grams margarine [chilled, we used Stork baking spread]
70 grams demerara sugar [or muscovado sugar]
2 teaspoons mixed spice powder [or apple pie spice mix or pumpkin pie spice mix]
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
411 grams jar of mincemeat

Add to the top:

2 tablespoons demerara sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 160 Fan, 180C, 350 Fahrenheit, Gas 4.
Grease the baking pan with margarine and line it with the baking paper leaving a small overlap around the pan edges as this will help when the time comes to remove the baked traybake.
Add the flour and margarine to a mixing bowl and using your finger tips rub the margarine into the flour until it looks similar to a bread crumb texture. Some chunkier bits may remain but these can be rubbed in more once the sugar is added.
[Use chilled margarine or vegan butter as this will work better for preparing the crumble mixture]
280 grams self-raising flour, 225 grams margarine
Stir through the mixed spice, cinnamon, and sugar. Rub any of the large chunks into smaller crumbs but don't worry if some larger pieces remain.
70 grams demerara sugar, 2 teaspoons mixed spice powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Now, remove half the mixture and tip it into the baking pan.
Using your finger tips or a small spatula press it down firmly and evenly over the bottom of the pan.
We used two extra tablespoons of the mixture from the bowl for the base as it was required to evenly cover the base.
Next, cover the base evenly with the mincemeat.
411 grams jar of mincemeat
Sprinkle the rest of the mixture evenly over the top of the mincemeat. Don't pat the mixture down as you want it to stay crumbly. It will set firm once its baked and cooled so don't worry that you won't be able to pick the crumble bars up as they will be crumbly but still firm.
Sprinkle the extra sugar over the top covering up any gaps.
2 tablespoons demerara sugar
Bake on the middle shelf for 35 minutes until crisp and golden. The traybake is baked when the top is golden and firm and this generally takes 35 minutes.
If using a fan oven check at the 30 minute mark as fan ovens tend to bake a few minutes quicker.
Leave the traybake to completely cool within the baking pan as while cooling it will set firm and be much easier to slice into bars or squares.
Once cool, use the baking paper to help remove the tray bake and then use a sharp knife to slice 12 bars and then if preferred slice the bars in half to create 24 squares.

Notes

Nutritional information is for guidance only and is not an exact calculation as ingredients vary.
Store the crumble bars in a cake or biscuit tin or food container for 4-5 days, possibly a day longer if stored somewhere cool. Add a layer of baking or parchment paper on the bottom of the container, as well as between layers of the crumble bars and finish with a paper layer on the top.
Or freeze, stacked in a freezer container for 2-3 months - adding a slice of baking paper between the layers to avoid the bars freezing on top of each other.
For a crumble variation the mincemeat can be replaced with applesauce, fruit jam, fruit curd, home-made cranberry sauce, cherry pie filling, or a stewed fruit such as dried dates or figs, apples, pears, peaches, or plums. However, don't use very runny or wet stewed fruits as it may result in a soggy crumble bar. So ensure that any excess liquid is strained off the stewed fruits.
Mixed spice powder can be replaced with pumpkin spice powder or apple spice powder.
Our mincemeat crumble traybake is adapted from a Bero recipe from their 41st edition. However, we use Stork baking margarine instead of dairy butter, have increased the amount of flour required, added ground cinnamon, used demerara sugar instead of muscovado sugar, and added extra sugar to the topping for extra crunch. We also choose to rub the margarine and flour with our fingertips rather than use a food processer as we found that using a food processor ran the risk of over-mixing and the result was pastry dough rather than crumble!
For a vegan traybake ensure that your jarred mincemeat does not contain animal suet or butter.
We used Stork baking spread or margarine for this bake and it was labelled as vegan.
If your not vegan or plant-based you can substitute the margarine for butter.

Nutrition