A Dozen Small Lids: Navigating Bentham’s Mince Pie Counters in 2026

Mid-November in Bentham has a particular smell: cold air, wet leaves, and the sweet, boozy fug of mincemeat warming behind a shop door. The first trays are out. Not the full Christmas display — that arrives later — but the tentative, single-shelf appearance that says the season has started whether you are ready or not.

This is the moment to start tasting, not because you need twelve pies in one week, but because the town’s independent counters do not all make the same thing. Some are tiny, heady, one-bite affairs. Some are proper pies with a lid you could post a letter through. Some are frangipane. We will get to that.

Why mid-November is the right time to start

A mince pie bought in the first week of December is often a mince pie bought in a hurry. Buying in mid-November gives you room to compare. It also gives you time to discover which shop’s pastry stays crisp overnight, which filling is too sweet after one bite, and which one is worth a second trip before the Christmas Eve queues.

The other reason is practical: shops are still experimenting. The first batches are small. If a bakery is trying a new lattice or a different suet, now is when you can taste it and decide whether it belongs in your Christmas. By December, the trays are bigger and the decisions are more emotional.

The four axes of a Bentham mince pie

Forget a simple star rating. A useful mince pie guide needs four axes: pastry, filling ratio, topping, and size. Get those right and you can predict whether a pie will suit your tea break, your freezer, or the relatives who claim they “don’t really like mince pies” before eating three.

Pastry. Most local pies are shortcrust: crumbly, buttery, and quick to soften. A few use rough puff or a hot-water crust, which gives more structure and a savoury edge. Neither is automatically better, but a thin shortcrust needs a confident filling; a thick pastry needs restraint.

Filling ratio. This is the real dividing line. A high-fruit filling is sharp, loose and fragrant. A high-suet filling is richer and heavier. Some are boozy enough to notice; others are all orange peel and sugar. The best pies taste of fruit first and spice second.

Topping. Full lid, lattice, star, crumble, or frangipane. Each changes the texture. A full lid traps steam and keeps the filling soft. A lattice lets the top crisp. A star is decorative but often leaves the centre exposed, which is fine if you eat it warm.

Size. A one-bite pie is a sample. A deep-filled pie is a pudding. Know which you are buying.

Pastry: the case for short and the case for rough

The bakery near the market square is doing a shortcrust that shatters politely under a teaspoon. It is the kind of pastry that makes you check your coat for crumbs. The filling is dark, citrus-heavy and not too sweet. This is the pie to buy when you want the classic thing done properly.

The deli by the station has gone the other way: a rougher, slightly thicker pastry with a lattice top. It holds together on the walk home, which matters in Bentham in November. The filling is boozier, with a brandy note that arrives after the first bite. It is not subtle, but it is honest.

Filling: fruit, booze and the suet question

Ask about suet. Not because you need to make a political statement about it, but because it changes the texture. Vegetarian suet can be excellent, but it sometimes sets firmer and tastes less rich. Traditional suet gives that soft, melting middle that makes a warm mince pie feel like a small pudding.

The farm shop out towards Low Bentham is using a fruit-forward mincemeat with very little added sugar. The first bite is sharp; the second is warmer. It is the best pie in town for people who find most mince pies too cloying. The café with the handwritten chalkboard, by contrast, has gone for a darker, stickier filling with black treacle. It is almost a different food group.

The frangipane question

Now the argument. A frangipane mince pie is a mince pie with an almond sponge lid. Traditionalists say it is not a mince pie at all; it is a small almond tart with a festive secret. Others say it is the best thing to happen to mincemeat since the addition of brandy.

The honest answer is that it depends on the ratio. A thin layer of frangipane, baked until just set, gives a lovely marzipan-adjacent crust and a softer filling. A thick layer turns the whole thing into cake. The best version in Bentham this month is the thinner one: almond on top, fruit below, icing sugar barely there. Buy one, eat it warm, and decide for yourself. Do not buy a box until you have done that.

The matrix: a practical ranking

If you want a simple buying guide, sort the counters into four boxes:

• Buy a box: all-butter shortcrust with a full lid and a sharp, fruit-led filling. Good cold, better warm, freezes well.
• Buy two: boozy lattice pies. One for now, one for the freezer. They are rich enough that a box is a commitment.
• Buy one: frangipane-topped pies. Divisive, delicious, not for everyone at the table.
• Buy a bag: one-bite glazed pies. Ideal for a walk along the Wenning or a sample tray moment when you cannot choose.

How to buy, store and warm

Buy singles first. A box is only a good idea once you know the pie survives a night in the tin. Ask when they were baked; a mince pie is at its best within two or three days. If you are freezing, do it on the day you buy them, and warm from frozen at 160C for eight to ten minutes. A splash of cream is not compulsory, but it is rarely wrong.

A short route for a grey Saturday

Start at the market square bakery, then walk to the station deli, then take the lane out towards Low Bentham for the farm shop. Finish with a coffee and a one-bite pie wherever there is a window seat. That is three stops, maybe an hour and a half, and enough mince pies to make a proper judgement.

The festive season in Bentham is long if you let it be. Mid-November is the quiet beginning. Use it to find the pies you actually want, rather than the ones you buy because the queue is long and the tin is shiny. The right mince pie is worth the walk.