A Christmas tart recipe has gone viral after the baker made the mistake of confusing the seasonal tart stuffing "mincemeat" for minced meat.

Photos of the unusual apple and minced beef tart have been shared on social media, with some saying they are "utterly obsessed", while others called it "weird" and "gross".

Mincemeat contains fried fruits, alcoholic spirits and spices. Traditionally, it did contain meat, however this ingredient is uncommon in contemporary cooking.

"Two nations divided by a common language," one person joked.

"Oh. Oh no," another shocked man said.

"You can't name something mincemeat and then get high and mighty when we get it confused with minced meat," one person argued on Twitter.

"This looks like every other weird gross thing people eat in England," one person tweeted about the recipe.

Some actually thought the dish looked edible and even delicious, jumping to the defence of the baker who wrote the recipe.

"I mean, with the right seasoning, that could be pretty good. Beef or lamb can go nicely with apple in the right context," one man wrote.

But others heartily disagreed, saying the meaty Christmas pie wasn't "seasoned" properly and didn't contain enough spices to balance the flavours.

"Not when that context includes custard. Or brandy sauce," another said, disagreeing.

The recipe and images have now been removed from the website