Coventry God Cakes

Square image of puff pastry and mincemeat turnovers.

5 from 3 votes

Coventry God Cakes are sweet mincemeat puff pastry turnovers. They are an English treat traditionally enjoyed around New Year and they make great use of leftover Christmas mincemeat.

Prep Time1 30

Cook Time20

Total Time1 50

Course: Baked Goods

Cuisine: British, English, West Midlands

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 330kcal

Author: Jane Coupland

Ingredients

200 g Plain flour (all-purpose)
150 g Butter hard
¼ teaspoon Salt
125 ml Water ice-cold
250 g Mincemeat (fruit mince)
1 tablespoon Brandy or rum
Beaten egg white to glaze
1 tablespoon Caster sugar

Instructions

Make the rough puff pastry

Divide the butter into 4 equal portions.
Put the flour and salt into a bowl and stir briefly. Cube 1 portion of the butter and rub it into the flour.
Pour in ¾ of the water and use a blunt knife to mix everything into a soft dough, adding more water as necessary (do not add so much that the dough turns sticky).
Next, roll the dough into a long rectangle on a lightly floured worktop to approx 4mm thick. Cube another portion of the butter and scatter it over ⅔ of the dough, leaving the final ⅓ empty.
Fold the empty third of the dough over the top of the dough, bringing it to the centre. Fold the other end of the pastry over the top, then rotate the pastry 90 degrees.
Roll the pastry into an oblong again and repeat the folding in step 5 (but do not add more butter at this stage. Repeat once more, then cover the dough and chill for 20 minutes.
Repeat steps 4-6 twice more to incorporate the 2 remaining portions of butter.
Chill the pastry for 1 hour in the fridge.

Assemble the Godcakes

Preheat the oven to 220C/ 425F/ GM 7 and line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
On a lightly floured worktop roll the pastry out into an oblong approximately 20cm x 40cm. Trim the edges to neaten and cut it into 8 squares each measuring 10cm x 10cm.
Mix the brandy/ rum into the mincemeat and divide it between the squares of pastry.
Lightly brush 2 adjacent edges of each square with water and fold over to form a triangle. Press lightly to seal.
Transfer the Godcakes to the lined baking sheet, then brush each one with beaten egg white and use a sharp knife to cut 3 slits (approx 2cm long) into the top of each one. You can also use the knife to make impressions along the edges of each turnover (optional).
Scatter caster sugar over the top
Bake for 10 minutes then turn the oven temperature down to 200C/ 400F/ GM 6 and rotate the baking sheet to ensure all turnovers bake evenly.
Cook for another 10-15 minutes until golden and the pastry is cooked through then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.

Notes

If you don’t have the time or inclination to make your own pastry, storebought puff pastry can be used instead. You’ll need a 500g block.
Remember to chill the pastry dough properly between each addition of butter and before rolling out to assemble these mincemeat puff pastry turnovers. The pastry is much easier to handle when sufficiently chilled and will give a better bake too.
Ensure that you roll your pastry to the right dimensions (20cm x 40cm ) to enable 8 squares to be cut from it.
Use a clean ruler as a guide to cut the pastry neatly (or the edge of the base of an oblong tart tin (pictured in step ***) if you have one to hand).
Don’t be tempted to over-fill each turnover as they will split open, letting the mincemeat burst out during cooking. Around 2 teaspoons of filling in each one is plenty.
It’s a good idea to divide the mincemeat between the eight pastry squares before sealing any of them to ensure that the filling is evenly distributed across them all.
Use a very sharp knife to cut the slits into the top of each God Cake. A serrated paring knife is a good option.
It’s not necessarily traditional to cut indents along the edge of the God cakes. It does give them a more polished look, but you can skip this step if desired.

Storage Instructions

Coventry God Cakes store well at room temperature (in an airtight container) for up to 3 days.

To freeze them, it’s best to cook them, let them cool completely and then open freeze the Godcakes. Once fully frozen, slide them into a freezer bag (don’t forget to label and date them). Store for up to 3 months, then defrost at room temperature and reheat for around 10 minutes at 150C/ 300F/ GM2.

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