US website puts actual mince in mince pie recipe, confusing everyone

Has there ever been a dessert grimmer than Rachel's beef trifle in Friends?

Maybe not, until US website The Spruce stepped in with their actual mince pie.

Posting on Twitter, Luke Bailey shared photos of some seemingly raw minced beef in a pastry case.

What ensued was mass hysteria, confusion, and a large-scale investigation into just what had happened.

Was it a joke? A wind-up? An honest mistake? Because, to be fair, due to ignorance and the aforementioned vegetarianism, I didn't even know mince pies weren't meat until I was in my late teens.​

The website's recipe now shows photos of an actual mince pie, with a "Now Meat Free!" addendum.

In statements and speaking to various outlets, a spokesperson for The Spruce said that what happened was a mix-up with the photographer. Allegedly they were the ones confused over the recipe, not the writer.

Still, all's well that ends well–the website likely got a whole bunch of traffic, and we all got some good laughs out of it.

More: America just discovered the Yorkshire Pudding and British people are furious​