Using up the mincemeat

I was reading my son's Diary entry on The Dabbler and saw that he was wondering what to do with the leftover Christmas mincemeat.  National concern has been raised about the amount of good food that is wasted because people buy too much and don't know how to use leftovers.

Much could be said about the supermarkets encouraging people to over buy with giant-sized packages and 2for1 offers, the absence of home economy and cooking lessons in the school curriculum and the failure of my generation to pass on skills to the next but I will refrain from that and offer my recipe for mincemeat cake instead!

For my son and anyone else who bought the giant size tub of mincemeat, here is how I use mine:

Mincemeat Cake

Ingredients

125g/4oz butter

125g/4oz soft brown sugar

3 large eggs

325g/12oz mincemeat

190g/7oz self-raising flour (white or wholemeal or a mixture of both)

Milk if necessary

Metho

1. Grease and line a 7inch (18cm) cake tin
2. Cream the butter and sugar
3. Beat in the eggs, adding a little flour if the mixture curdles
4. Stir in the mincemeat and flour
5. The mixture should be quite moist. You may need to add some milk if the mincemeat is dry.
6. Bake in a moderate oven, Gas 3/325F/160C for ten minutes thenreduce heat to Gas 2 300F/150C for about 90 minutes, until cake is firm on top and shrinking from sides of tin.
7. Allow to cool a little before turning onto a baking rack.

 This cake keeps well and is delicious with a piece of strong cheddar - a nice alternative to a sandwich in the lunch box.