Oven Poached Quince

Since this recipe has the quince tightly covered with foil during the cooking time in the oven, I think it’s still classified as poaching? 

Whether it’s technically poaching or baking, I find this a great way to cook these tough but delicious fruit. 

I used to spend time cutting out the cores of the raw quince to then wrap in muslin to add to the baking, but if the quince cores are in good condition I will now leave them in tact and cut them out after cooking - much easier!

Many times I have cooked quince I have found the cores are not in good condition as they contain a little mould etc. I think this occurs if a fruit fly or similar has burrowed its way into the centre of the fruit (any experts let me know in the comments if my assumption here is correct!). Look out for fruit with small holes in the flesh as these are likely to be poorer quality and may have cores that are not usable. I avoid fruit with these little holes if I can as even cutting the quince can be a lot of work, and it’s disappointing to find the core (and all the pectin it can give the poached quince) has to be completely discarded along with some if of the rest of the quince too.

In these cases I keep any useable core and place in muslin to poach with the quince, but if your quince are very good quality you should be able to leave the cores until after cooking.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Oven Poached Quince

Ingredients:

4-5 quince

300g white sugar

130ml water

juice of two lemons or two bergamots (approx. 120ml)

1 tsp vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla bean halved length ways

8 cardamom pods

handful of fresh or dried rose petals

Method:

Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius.

Peel and cut the quince into quarters and place in a single layer in a large baking dish. 

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, citrus juice, vanilla, cardamom and rose petals. Place over low/medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

Once the sugar has dissolved allow to simmer for a couple of minutes, then pour over the quince and cover the baking dish tightly with foil.

Place in the oven for at least 2 -3 hours, turning the quince over halfway so they colour evenly. The quince will be ready once they have softened (but remain whole) and have turned a ruby red colour. The cooking time will depend on the size of the quince. I check mine at the 1 and 2 hour marks, and then at 30 minute intervals after that if they need more than 2 hours.

Once the quince are cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool. Discard the cardamom pods, and once the quince have cooled enough, gently cut out the cores and discard. If the colour of the quince is lighter underneath the cut part, turn them over so they are face down in the quince cooking syrup and they will colour up a bit while the quince cool further. 

Once cooled, place quince together with the syrup in an airtight container (I find glass containers work best). Keep in the fridge, they should last for a couple of months for so. You can freeze the quince as well. 

Chai Spiced Quince Muffins

Each quince season I like to make at least two batches of this quince chutney, and hopefully poach some for cakes, tarts, crumbles etc. 

This year I was beginning to worry I had missed quince season altogether as none of my regular green grocers had any in Autumn. As soon as Winter arrived, they appeared in the stores (near me anyway), I’m not sure if it’s technically late in the season for them, or if in the past I was just often lucky to find them earlier.

I originally found some really small quince, that looked a little sad honestly, and I wasn’t sure even a quarter of my wish list of quince recipes I wanted to make would be fulfilled. Luckily I soon found some really big quince a few weeks later at another shop and my hopes for all the quince wish list recipes was restored. 

I made a double batch or so (it sort of ended up being double and a half of the recipe) of my favourite quince chutney. I now have 12 jars of it so that should be enough to get me through to next quince season! 

Next was to poach some quince. I often end up overdoing this and have so much poached quince I don’t know what to do with all of it. This year I have only done one batch, though the four quince I poached were so spectacularly large they barely all fit in the baking tray at once. 

I poached them using the recipe for Fragrant Quince Butter with Rose from my Cosy Winter Bakes eBook, and just didn’t finish off the recipe to make quince butter, but rather left them as poached quince. (However you can use whatever poached quince you have using whatever recipe you prefer or always use to make the muffin recipe below.)

I decided to make muffins with some of the poached quince, as after all that fuss poaching them I felt a more simple recipe to use them in was in order. This is a great recipe to use if you have a bit of poached quince left from something else, or get into a bit of a quince recipe rut after poaching lots of quince. 

I used the chai spice mix from Gewürzhaus called Raj’s Majestic Chai Masala. If you can’t find anything similar you could also use 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger and 1/2 tsp ground cardamom. 

Chai Spiced Quince Muffins

Ingredients: 

300g self raising flour

165g panela sugar (or brown/muscovado sugar)

2.5 tsp chai spice mix

1.5 cups roughly chopped poached quince (drained of any syrup/poaching liquid)

1 tsp vanilla extract

125ml milk

125ml oil (any flavourless oil will do e.g. canola, vegetable etc)

x2 eggs

slivered almonds, for garnish

Method: 

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius and line a 12 hole muffin tray with muffins cases. 

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and chai spice mix. Then add the roughly chopped quince. 

In a medium bowl or jug whisk together the vanilla, milk, oil and eggs until well combined. 

Add the oil mixture to the dry ingredients and gently mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. 

Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffins cases in the tin, and generously top each muffin with some slivered almonds. 

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the muffins spring back to the touch. 

Allow to cool on a wire rack, however they are lovely eaten warm. 

Muffins are best eaten the day they are made, however any leftovers will freeze well for future muffin enjoyment. 

Makes 12 muffins.

Carrot Cake with Quince Syrup and Spiced Buttercream

I love a good carrot cake. The recipe is always easy, no need for a mixer, and can be adapted quite a lot too. 

This most recent adaptation came about when it suddenly occurred to me that quince syrup could be substituted for the usual honey/golden syrup often used in carrot cakes. I buy sticky quince syrup from Singing Magpie Produce, and I’m not sure if there is anyone else who produces a similar product. 

While I highly recommend buying from Singing Magpie Produce, if you are outside Australia or wish for another alternative, date syrup/molasses can be used instead. In fact I’m sure many other fruit based syrups/molasses could be trailed in a recipe like this. I just wouldn’t try pomegranate molasses, as it would be too tart. 

Using a product such as quince syrup rather than honey or something similar, allows the cake to be less sweet - though the buttercream here makes up for that! However the combination is quite nice as they compliment each other. This is also a nice cake without icing too if you want to keep it as it is. 

You could make this cake an Easter carrot cake by decorating with small Easter eggs or similar. 

Carrot Cake with Quince Syrup and Spiced Buttercream

Ingredients: 

75g panela or brown sugar

125ml canola or vegetable oil

125ml quince syrup (I use this one)

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

225g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarb soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground cardamom 

3 medium carrots, grated

For the icing:

150g unsalted butter, at room temp 

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

190g icing sugar, sifted

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cardamom 

Method: 

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius and grease and line a 20cm round springform cake tin.

In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, oil, quince syrup, eggs and vanilla.

Then add the flour, baking powder and spices. Sift in the bicarb soda and whisk together until combined.

Then add the grated carrots to the cake mixture and mix to combine. 

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the top with a spatula. 

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the cake is golden, springy to the touch and a skewer comes out clean.

Remove the outer edge of the cake tin and allow the cake to cool on a wire rack.

To make the icing, beat the butter and vanilla in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment for at least 1 minute, or until the butter is light and fluffy. 

Add the icing sugar and spices and beat for a further minute or two, or until the icing sugar is well combined and the icing is light and fluffy. 

Spread the icing over the cake.

Serves 8-10. 

Cosy Bakes for Cooler Weather

Here in Sydney, we’re well into Winter now - and a COVID related lockdown - so here are a few cosy things to bake to enjoy the cooler weather, and take advantage of being at home.

. . .

I for one am quite relieved the cooler weather has really begun, I hate the heat, but also find it much more comfortable to cook and bake in the cooler weather. There are many Autumn and Winter inspired things I want to bake, and below is a little list of the recipes I have been enjoying or hope too soon. 

This list is quite quince heavy, as to me, it isn’t Autumn without poaching a few quince! 

1. On the long weekend I used this recipe to poach 2kg of quince, and am hoping to make the quince cake (pictured above) from my free eBook Seasonal Cakes and Bakes ASAP (get your free copy by signing up to my mailing list today!).

2. I saw the talented Tilly of @tillys_table post the recipe for this Blackberry and Almond Afternoon Tea Cake on Instagram a week or so ago, as part her Plain-Cake Appreciation Society (a society I would definitely like a membership with!). I immediately saved Tilly’s post, and hope to make it soon. I also think you could use poached quince instead of blackberries, which I may do since I have so many now!

3. On another quince related note, I made my annual double batch of Sophie Hansen’s Quince Chutney, which I am obsessed with and can’t ever seem to make enough of. The recipe is also in her book ‘A Basket by the Door’ and goes excellently with the pork sausage rolls on the page before hand (p.142). 

4. Since there are still some lovely Australian plums in the shops at the moment, I made Leah Koenig’s Passover Cake which can be found in the Monday Morning Cooking Club’s book ‘Now for Something Sweet’. The recipe asks for pears and pecans, however I used plums and pistachios and it was delicious. And while I did use superfine matzo meal as the recipe says, you can substitute for plain flour and I am told it is an excellent cake made that way too. 

5. For more cosy baking ideas check out my Cosy Winter Bakes eBook - I am going to be revisiting some of the recipes now the weather has cooled down!

Yeasted Hamantaschen with Quince Lekvar

This year I was determined to make hamantaschen again, but this time with the more traditional yeasted dough. I loved my Pistachio Hamantaschen I made last year, but I really wanted to have a comparison with a more traditional hamantaschen. 

For those who have never heard of hamantaschen before, they are made to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim (see links at the end of this post to find out more). They are kind of like a cross between a biscuit and a pastry with a sweet tasty filling, and the triangular shape has great symbolism for the holiday. Check out my post from last year to find out a little more.

I tried to stay as traditional as I could with this, but me being me, and not being bound by any Purim traditions of my own, I altered a prune filling (or Lekvar) recipe to include dried quince and dried pears. Mostly because quince is my third favourite flavour (coming in close after rose and pistachio which alternate between spots one and two), and I have access to amazing dried quince from Singing Magpie Produce, which I knew would taste amazing cooked into a lekvar. 

I heavily leaned on Leah Koenig’s new book ‘The Jewish Cookbook’ to produce this hamantaschen recipe. Leah’s book is my new ultimate resource on Jewish cooking, spanning all diasporas and nationalities and all types of meals and holidays. If you just want one book to show you the ways of Jewish cooking and baking, this is it. I (somewhat ironically I admit) received this book as a gift for Christmas, and it has maintained its spot as my most looked at cookbook since then. 

View fullsize

Folding Hamantaschen

View fullsize

The Jewish Cookbook by Leah Koenig

I was delighted to find a yeasted hamantaschen dough in Leah’s book, as I had already decided I wanted to try this type of dough for my next hamantaschen attempt! And out of the many cookbooks I own, it is the only one to contain such a recipe. Leah also provides many hamantaschen filling options, and I was particularly intrigued by the fruit lekvar traditional to Central and Eastern Europe. Lekvar is a thick jammy paste made using dried fruits and juice. I adapted Leah’s Prune Lekvar recipe to create my Quince Lekvar, but you could stick to prunes if you can’t find any dried quince. If you can get your hands on fresh quince, a quince butter would also make a great substitute for the lekvar (see my Cosy Winter Bakes eBook for a Quince Butter recipe). 

A yeasted hamantaschen definitely takes a bit more time and effort than a more shortbread pastry hamantaschen (see my recipe last year for a good one), but it is worth the effort. I found my first dough attempt didn’t work, I think because I am baking in a more humid climate and my dough just became unbelievably sticky and wet and barely rose at all. I have slightly altered the quantities of flour in the recipe, and continue to generously add more flour as I knead the dough. This is quite an intuitive recipe (which is why I suggest kneading by hand rather than using a stand mixer), and depending on your climate, you may not need nearly as much flour as I did. For reference the original recipe says to start with 350g, and up to 70g more if needed. On my second attempt I added that total amount (420g), then I added more when I was kneading and my dough worked out much better. 

Quince Lekvar (or thick jam)

Quince Lekvar

Ingredients:

200g dried quince

100g dried pears (or dried apple)

120ml cloudy apple juice 

175ml water

4 tbsp panela sugar

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method: 

Place the quince, pears, apple juice, water and panela sugar in a small saucepan. Over low-medium heat bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover the saucepan with its lid. Cook the fruit, stirring every now and then, for about 25-35 minutes or until the fruit has softened and most of the liquid has been absorbed. 

Take the pan off the heat, and puree the fruit with a stick blender. Stir in the honey, cinnamon, cardamon and vanilla then allow to cool completely before storing covered or in an airtight container in the fridge. 

Makes approx. 580g.

Yeasted Hamantaschen

Ingredients: 

7g dried yeast

150g + 1 tsp caster sugar 

120ml warm water

420g plain flour, plus extra

pinch of salt

60ml canola oil, plus extra

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract 

360g (approx.) Quince Lekvar

Method: 

In a large bowl stir together the yeast, warm water and the 1tsp caster sugar. Leave for 5-10 minutes until it has become frothy.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the remaining 150g caster sugar, flour and salt.

Add two of the eggs, oil and vanilla extract to the activated yeast and whisk to combine.

Add the flour, and mix. 

Generously dust your work surface with more flour, and tip the dough out. Dust the dough with flour, and begin to knead. This dough can be quite sticky, so continue to knead and add flour until the dough becomes more manageable and elastic. Knead for about 10 minutes, the dough will still be a little sticky, but once it becomes smoother and more elastic it will be ready to prove. 

Lightly oil a large bowl with a little more of the canola oil, and place the dough in. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm spot for 1.5-2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size. This dough won’t rise as dramatically as a traditional bread dough, but if the size has at least doubled during the proofing time, then it will be ready for the next step. 

Once the dough as proofed, line two to three trays with baking paper, and preheat oven to 180 degrees/170 degrees Celsius fan. 

Lightly dust your work surface with more flour, and roll out half the dough (leave the other half covered in the bowl). Using a 7-8cm round cutter, cut out rounds of the dough and place in the prepared trays. Keep the scraps of dough and place to the side for now. Roll out the remaining dough and cut out with the cutter. Re-roll all the scraps, and cut out as before. The dough will become harder to work with now as it is becoming overworked. Discard any remaining scraps now, especially if you have cut out close to 30 rounds, and your trays are filled. 

Place a teaspoon of the quince lekvar in the centre of each round. Shape the rounds of dough into the characteristic triangle shape by pinching one side into a corner, then folding the other side up to form two more corners. Ensure the corners are well sealed and stuck together. If you need some more tips on how to fold hamantashen take a look at this graphic made by The Nosher.

Loosely place some cling over the trays and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Crack the remaining egg into a glass and beat with a fork. Brush the tops of the hamantaschen with the egg, then place in the oven for about 18 minutes to cook. Rotate the trays in the oven about half way through to ensure the hamantaschen cook more evenly. The hamantaschen will be ready when they have puffed up a little and are golden. 

These are best eaten the day they are made, but will keep in an airtight container for a few days.

Makes about 30 hamantaschen.

Reference: ‘The Jewish Cookbook’ by Leah Koenig (Phaidon Press Limited, 2019), pp.342 & 410. For more info on yeasted hamantaschen check out this post on the blog Poppy & Prune and this recipe on kosher.com. 

Dried Quince & Almond Butter Biscuits

These biscuits showcase a couple of things I really love at the moment - almond butter and dried quince. I am actually having a thing will all nut butters at the moment, especially pistachio, but finding a recipe that used it in a biscuit was super exciting. My moment with dried quince has been quite long standing, after meeting Sue of Singing Magpie Produce last year. When I saw this particular recipe I knew I needed to try it with Singing Magpie Produce’s Dried Quince. 

The recipe originally comes from Georgina Hayden’s first book ‘Stirring Slowly.’ I have followed Georgina on Instagram for a while, but up until recently didn’t have any of her books. To be honest I haven’t really come across them in bookshops here in Sydney. But after seeing a bit of the behind the scenes of Georgina making her second book ‘Taverna’ on Instagram, I knew I needed to get her books, ASAP. I pre-ordered ‘Taverna’ online, and in the meantime bought ‘Stirring Slowly’ online too.

Both books are utterly delightful and jam packed filled with recipes I want to make. The recipe for Almond, Oat and Raisin Cookies jumped out at me instantly when I first looked at ‘Stirring Slowly’, which is the recipe these biscuits are based on. The recipe reminded me of the Oatmeal Biscuits my Grandma used to make, but with the addition on almond butter and raisins. 

Always being on the lookout for a new way to use dried quince, I decided to make these with my dried quince from Singing Magpie Produce, rather than raisins. I really like the addition of the dried quince, you could even add more if it to the biscuits when baking for a bigger quince hit. Many other dried fruits would work if you don’t have any dried quince, and other nut butters would work well too. Though if you can get some dried quince, I highly recommend it. It’s so good I often find myself eating it straight from the packet before I have a chance to make anything with it, it’s that good.

Dried Quince & Almond Butter Cookies

Ingredients: 

175g rolled oats (not instant)

150g plain flour 

1 tsp ground cinnamon 

1 tsp baking powder

125g softened unsalted butter or margarine

75g almond butter 

1tsp vanilla bean paste

125g Panela sugar

200g brown sugar

2 eggs (large)

100g roughly chopped dried quince (I buy mine from Singing Magpie Produce) 

Method: 

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line two large baking trays with baking paper. 

In a medium bowl mix the oats, flour, cinnamon and baking powder together and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter, almond butter and vanilla bean paste together until smooth. Add the sugars and mix until pale and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, and mix until combined. 

Fold in the flour, either with a wooden spoon or mix briefly on the lowest speed of your stand mixer. Add the chopped dried quince and gently mix to evenly distribute. 

Spoon heaped teasponfuls of the mixture on to the prepared trays, leaving gaps between each as they will spread a fair bit during baking. 

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the biscuits are turning golden but are still soft in the middle. Biscuits can be left on the baking trays to cool.

Reference: ‘Stirring Slowly’ by Georgina Hayden (Square Peg, 2016) p.196.