At Irrewarra, we developed our tarts to be exactly what we love in a mince tart – the pastry is very short, all butter and simply melts in your mouth, the mince is rich and dense, heavy on the brandy and made so you can see and taste the plump vine fruits inside; and it has a lid, which gives great balance of pastry to mince. We also love the feeling of biting into the tarts, as the perfectly short pastry crumbles and uncovers the spiced surprise of the filling. 

Fruit Mince Tarts: it starts with our melt-in-your-mouth pastry

To craft our soft and deliciously crumbly pastry, we look for the finest local ingredients. We use  Moorepark free range eggs from neighbouring Warncoort – you can even see these happy hens roaming the Otway foothills as you drive toward Irrewarra! The butter is locally made fresh, unsalted butter delivered by our local Colac milkman, and we look no further than Laucke for our flour, direct from their Bridgewater Mill near Bendigo.

These wonderful ingredients are lightly combined to form our rich buttery dough, with the brief mixing time preventing the gluten in the flour from over-developing. This means a melt-in-your mouth pastry case every time! Dough is then rested, rolled and cut – including our signature Irrewarra star at the centre of the lids!

Always from scratch: Irrewarra Mince Tart filling

Did you know that we start making the fruit mince for our famous tarts in August?

We grate Granny Smith apples, then macerate the apple and the finest dried fruits – currants, sultanas, raisins, dates and prunes – in proper French brandy, orange juice and freshly grated citrus zest, plus a mix of spices. The secret to our mince is the unique blend of fruit: whole vine fruits return to their pre-dried form as they absorb the brandy and juice. Plus, we also mix in our own blood plum jam, which we make each year from organic blood plums from our founder Bronwynne’s orchard. 

But what truly sets Irrewarra Fruit Mince Tarts apart is our commitment to quality. We do not use commercial mince, mass-produced with thickeners, sugar or sweeteners. All the fresh oranges and apples are sourced from our local grocer Garden of Eden, and only the best Australian sultanas and currants are chosen. Why? Because we know you can taste the difference.

The finishing touches

Finally, our bakers add equal portions of our delicious mince to the case and press our star-studded lids on top. They’re baked on a low-medium heat for a perfectly golden crust, then allowed to cool for precisely 8 minutes. Then it’s over to you!

Our Fruit Mince Tarts are baked every day up until Christmas Eve, so you can share with your loved ones the whole way through the holiday season – and as they are packaged in our beautiful custom boxes, they also make a well-received gift come Christmas Day!

Get Irrewarra Fruit Mince Tarts delivered directly to you by shopping via our online store, or find your local stockist here.

We wish everyone a safe and happy festive season and look forward to being part of your Christmas celebrations!

Irrewarra Fruit Mince Tarts and Chocolate Panforté are available online or in Victoria, NSW, QLD, SA and WA at your favourite fine food retailers – click here to find your local stockist. If you find your local Irrewarra stockist does not currently have stock on hand, please encourage them to place an order for you.

Ensure you place your online orders by 18th December 2023 to ensure delivery before Christmas Day (excludes WA and NT).

You’ll need to wait a little bit longer for our sourdough Christmas Fruit Loaf, available in the last week before Christmas (Tuesday 19th December - Sunday 24th December) at our Victorian stockists.