Winter and quince. This will be the combination that I will long for once these colder months pass by. I will miss the lovely decorative yellow skin fruits in my fruit bowl. I will miss the perfume of poached quinces lingering in my kitchen. I will miss the deep red color of the slowly-poached fruits. I will miss the warm bowl of quinces and their sweet spiced syrup, with a dollop of yohgurt almost every night.
So many poached quinces, and I have not got around to re-do that stuffed quince recipe from Claudia Roden. I tend to remember that recipe after I poach the whole lot of quinces already. Ah. Never mind, poached quinces are B’s and my favourites.
My sister, on the other hand, doesn’t appreciate quinces that much. Perhaps when she grows older, she will appreciate fruits and vegetables a bit more. Like I did with most fruits and vegs.
In cakes, she seems to be okay though. It is indeed a very nice and simple tea cake. The base is nutty and buttery, which goes well with poached fruits. I normally make this cake with poached (or canned) pear halves. With quinces, it tastes even better. And the deep red color makes the cake so pretty, almost like a flower petal imprint.
Based on a recipe by the AWW
Poached quinces
Two quinces
1 cinammon
1 clove
Sugar syrup (equal amount of sugar and water)
The cake
185 butter, softened
110g castor sugar
3 eggs
185g almond meal
1/4 cup plain flour
2 tsp vanilla paste
Method
Wash and peel the quince. Quarter the fruit and put in a heavy-based saucepan. Add in enough sugar syrup to cover the fruits. Don’t throw away the skin. I put the skin in a small muslin bag and poach along with the fruit for fragrance. Anyway, add in cinammon and cloves. Boil the whole mixture, then simmer very slowly for 4 hours or until the quince has that rich red color. Cool
For the cake
Preheat oven to 165C. Grease 22cm springform tin, line base and side with baking paper.
Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, one at a time, beating until combined between each addition. Stir in vanilla, almond meal and flour.
Spread the mixture into prepared pan, top with the quince pieces. Bake for around 50mins or until cooked through. Stand the cake for 5 mins. Remove from the pan and cool.
Syrup: After removing the quinces from the poaching syrup, continue to boil until the syrup thickens lightly. Serve this with the cake. Yum!
I will definitely miss quince too – so fragrant. This winter I actually tried a savoury dish, where the quince was stewed with lamb but I didn't really like it all that much. I really prefer the syrupy, sweet version.
Yum Anh! I love that delicious red colour of the quince. A gorgeous cake!
Looks wonderful Anh.
Looks yummy and soft !
You're right Anh – this is such a lovely tea cake. I can imagine how moist the cake would be with the almond meal. You could turn an quince hater into a lover of this great fruit.
A lovely combination!
Hi Anh, chanced upon your blog. This is my first time here and enjoying reading your posts, seeing all the beautiful shots and deli bakes~
Anh, I am in LOVE with your food photography! I'll eat whatever you photograph!
i'm not into quince but my dad loves it! i should make this for him with our own quince fruit from our trees!
I think most people are willing to eat food they don't particularly love if it is placed inside a cake. I've never made a quince cake before, but this looks too delicious to pass up!
Wow, well done.
Anh– you make winter seem light, airy, and full of lovely fruits. I never get to indulge in quinces, but this cake looks wonderful!
It looks delicious but I never heard of quince. I learn something new today.
Another lovely recipe to bookmark for when quince is in season here! Gorgeous!
Quince and almond would go so well together – kind of like pear, but more fragrant (and prettier!)
I quite like quince but I never seem to cook with it. Gorgeous cake!
The combination of Quince and almond makes your cake turn out very special. Love it~
Beautiful dessert to indulge in. With a cup of milk, I would be all smiles for the rest of the day 😀
Anh, I didn't know your blog! How's that possible? Beautiful photography…
Hmmm…I have quince.. I can bake!! I hope I don't fail
You are the one responsible for me craving quince, sweetie, and I have never even eaten it! :D
I've never had quince before! =O I'll have to try it some day….hehe =] But I agree- it looks really pretty! And the cake looks delicious!
Anh, I lover the colour of this cake .. so gorgeous and it really jumps out of the pages.
Never try this before but it looks really inviting.
It's a gorgeous cake with the pink quinces on top. It must be nice and moist too with almond meal and fruit!
Quince is new to me…hope to see them around 😀
Looks amazing, I've not tried cooking with quinces before, but this recipe looks nice and moist.
May be it's hard to believe, but this is the first recipe featuring quinces that I come across:) I'm intrigued, will have to try, surely!
Admittedly I have never tried poached quince – oohhh now I'm feelin left out :'( sniff…
Beautiful shots, Anh! Love the close-up flower shot, simply gorgeous :-)
Awww, I love quinces – they smell SO AMAZING. Gorgeous cake, yum!
I've never tried quince before but you make it sound to die for. Very nice cake, Anh :).
i havent eaten quince, guess because i am not so into pear???
I havent eaten quince, guess because i am not so into pear??
I have quince once, but you are making me wanting a lot more now. The recipe sounds great and your pictures are so beautiful,
I am still yet to try quinces. I always think of winter as a fruitless season, maybe because I love my summer fruits more =)
i have never seen quince sold in shops before. where did you buy yours from?
this cake looks gorgeous – I love quinces – finally got to cooking some this autumn but still haven't posted about them – their colour is as beautiful as their fragrance and they look wonderful on the cake
Grub I found my in one of the grocers in Preston Market. I'm pretty sure they should be available in Vic market. Only certain grocers carry them around.
This has to be one of the best quince desserts I have come across.
What an incredible looking cake – so earthy and bright! I can tell from the ingredients that this would be delicious! I adore quince. I wouldn't mind a piece right now :)