Price: £2.50 for a box of 6 (05/10/2024)
The Mr Kipling name has been synonymous with miniature, sweet, baked goods in Britain for over fifty years and their strapline “exceedingly good cakes” has become a well-known marketing slogan in the UK and beyond. The brand was born in 1967 and I was recently disappointed to learn that there was no real life Mr Kipling behind the company. The name was simply invented by the owners.
The 2024 version of the Mr Kipling Mince Pies comes with an endorsement on the box from the Good Housekeeping Institute. They declare these pies to be ‘taste approved’, which apparently means that they will have been rigorously tested by their teams of experts. The packaging text describes the pies as “deliciously rich and fruity mincemeat in a buttery pastry case”.
Cold Taste Test
My first impression was that this is a very nice mincemeat recipe. Very traditional, and nicely balanced. Sweet, but not overwhelmingly so, and with no single ingredient dominating the mix of flavours. The pastry is pretty decent too for a cold, pre-baked item. Nice and firm and crumbly. As far as the mass-produced, mid-market pies go, it’s one of the better ones.
Hot Taste Test
As with all the other mince pies that I have reviewed in this series, I gave a Mr Kipling mince pie a 13 second blast in the microwave. It’s not as good as heating them up in the oven, but it’s much quicker and uses less energy. I can report that the pie was just as tasty when warm as it is cold, if not more so. If heating a batch up in bulk for guests then I’d definitely use the oven to get the pasty extra crispy, but the microwave does a decent job and these pies responded well.
Verdict
These are very satisfactory pies. They’re not show-stoppers, but they are a good, dependable choice for any festive spread. All those years of pie-making experience in the kitchens of Mr Kipling towers have been put to good use and these pies are worthy of their distinguished heritage. My only minor quibble is that, despite the claim on the box, they are not particularly deep filled compared to some of their competitors. There’s a noticeable and significant gap between the top of the mincemeat and the lid of the pie. Come on Mr Kipling – don’t skimp on the filling!
Nutrition
Typical values (per 100g):
- Energy: 387 kcal
- Fat: 13.6 g
- Saturates: 5.4 g
- Carbohydrate: 61.6 g
- Of which sugars: 30.9 g
- Fibre : 2.1 g
- Protein: 3.5 g
- Salt: 0.3 g