Oven Poached Quince

Kath May 23, 2024

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.

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.

Off The Shelf - The Plain Cake Appreciation Society by Tilly Pamment

Kath February 29, 2024

Bought At: Pre-ordered from Amazon, however I have since bought two copies as gifts directly from Tilly.

Recipes Made: So many!

I made A Plain Cake with Passionfruit Buttercream (p.16) knowing I had all the ingredients, even some passionfruit pulp in the freezer. It was a lovely plain cake, unfortunately especially so as my passionfruit were decidedly un-passionfruit-y! It was the least passionfruit-y passionfruit I’ve ever eaten, and I was quite disappointed to experience that when making this cake! I can certainly imagine however, how much better this cake would usually be with probably any other passionfruit than the ones I used!

I made the Weekday Lemon Cake (p.19) when I had some in season bergamots and can confirm it was delicious, as I’m sure it would be with lemon (or any other citrus). Another lovely simple yet very flavoursome and satisfying cake from this book.

Strawberry Streusel Cake (p.20) was the first recipe I made from The Plain Cake Appreciation Society, as it was a recipe featured in a Graziher magazine newsletter back in 2021. I liked it then as was happy to see it was in Tilly’s book. I have made it since with plums, then with donut peaches and raspberries. All versions were delicious, and it’s a great cake to make if you have run out of milk or have issues with lactose as this cake uses no milk, cream, sour cream or yoghurt. It is a great recipe to make if you want to use up some in season fruit, and the streusel topping adds a little something too.

I requested Pistachio and Rose Bundt Cake (p.30) for my birthday last year, and while we don’t have a Bundt tin as nice as the one Tilly used in her book, it was a delicious cake. Pistachio and rose are just about my two favourite flavours so I was definitely always going to love this cake. The only thing I would personally change if I made it again was to ice the cake once the cake had cooled, as the icing soaks into the cake after that and isn’t as spectacular the next day or so. Not a problem if you know the cake will be eaten on the first day however, but in our house these things do last a good few days.

The Raspberry Studded Tea Bars (p.36) are definitely our most made recipe from Tilly’s book. Between my Mum and I we’ve probably made these at least 10 times since September 2023. They are a simple cake, but are very tasty and very dietary requirement friendly as well - they are gluten free, lactose free and relatively low fodmap (depending on your almond and berry tolerance). We often have a batch of these in the freezer as they freeze well, and make the nicest snack when we don’t have time to bake. The first time my Mum made these she did include the ground up tea in them, however we’ve never added it since as we like them just as much without (and it makes them even easier to make). As you can see in the photo we bake them in a friand tin as we don’t have any bar tins suitable, and haven’t been able to find anything yet either. You still get 12 little cakes out of the mixture and they bake for the same amount of time as well.

I was lucky to make the Quince and Blackberry Crumble Cake using the recipe for Baked Quince (p.108) before quince were all out of season not too long after Tilly’s book was released last year. I love quince and knew this cake would be worth making. I made half the recipe of the baked quince (which is enough to make one cake, I did swap the orange for bergamot in the recipe as I can’t eat orange), and made the cake and it was just so so good. The brown butter crumble on top of this cake is a real standout, you can really taste the browned butter and it really elevates the cake flavour wise. I made this cake again with blueberries and raspberries once quince season was over, which I can also highly recommend. Similar to the Strawberry Streusel Cake (p.20), this cake can be made with many different fruits and served as a dessert or just a nice cake with tea.

I had some apples to use up later last year, so I made the Apple and Cinnamon Cake (p.113). From memory I didn’t have any Greek-style yoghurt as the recipe asked for, and used milk instead and it still worked really well. I didn’t lay out the sliced apples on top of the cake nearly as nicely and neatly as Tilly has, I ran out of patience when doing it 🤣. My cake may not look as good, but I can guarantee it was very delicious and very nice with a cup of tea.

Being a pistachio lover I had to make the Pistachio Cake with Rhubarb Buttercream (p.114). I also had some fresh rhubarb, however no cream cheese to make the Rhubarb Buttercream so I omitted the icing and put a few pieces of rhubarb on the top of the cake before I baked it. The cake is quite light so the rhubarb drifted all the way to the bottom of the cake, but it was no less enjoyable for it. This pistachio cake is quite different to the Pistachio and Rose Bundt Cake (p.30) texture wise, and I can see why a buttercream was Tilly’s choice for this one. I do really need to make this again properly, however if you have a craving for pistachio cake and don’t have all the buttercream ingredients, I would still recommend making this cake on its own.

Similar to the Strawberry Streusel Cake (P.20), the Matcha Tea Cake (p.117) was also featured in a newsletter from Graziher magazine a couple of years before The Plain Cake Appreciation Society was published, so I made it back then. I actually made it with freeze dried raspberry powder, a suggestion given by Tilly for those of use who don’t like matcha. It was a fun marble style cake, however I don’t recall the flavour being enough for me. I dare say matcha would be a much better substitute flavour wise if you like it.

Favourite Things About the Book: Everything! I honestly do love everything about this cookbook. From the photography and styling, to the design and colour palette used throughout, Tilly’s writing and the way the book is divided into sections/chapters, to the recipes themselves and the delightful use of flavour in each. The Plain Cake Appreciation Society is my favourite book of all 2023 releases, and remains so into 2024. I don’t think I’ve made so many things from one book in a long time (maybe ever?). When I open this cookbook I not only want to make almost every recipe, but I also just want to look at it all. Tilly’s photography is so captivating, it makes me wish I was as good at it as she is. The Plain Cake Appreciation Society has a really clear and cohesive vision behind it, everything just works and transports the reader or baker to a quiet moment filled with tea, cake and flowers. The cakes in the book are really anything but plain. The recipes are generally unfussy, and maybe I am taking plain to mean ‘boring/bland/tasteless’, when Tilly clearly means something more like everyday and comforting, but the flavours used in these recipes are not only exactly the things I want to eat, but in my mind are far from plain in the best possible way.

Bookmarked Recipes (to make later!): Berry Cloud Cake (p.55), Vanilla Cake with Baked Rhubarb (p.78), Burnt Butter and Blackberry Sheet Cake (p.94), Pistachio and Plum Cake (p.99), Malted Banana Cake (p.128), Ginger and Rose Madeleines (p.150), Date and Ginger Bundt Cake (p.156). and Citrus Madeleines (p.182).

Cookbooks Worth Waiting for in 2024 Part 1

Kath February 8, 2024

After deciding on what I thought were the best cookbooks of 2023, it’s now time to look ahead to the cookbooks that are soon to hit our shelves in 2024.

These cookbooks worth waiting for lists are my way of saying ‘these are the upcoming releases I am most excited about’. I’m not sure if there is a more succinct way of describing that or a more succinct title this series could have, but I’m a few years in now and it seems a bit odd to consider changing it now!

Below are the books I think are worth waiting for, and that I am most excited about. Four of the five books are by cookbook authors I know and love, and one is a new to me author which I am keen to discover more about.

Are there any cookbooks you are looking forward to this year? What would you add to this list?

What Can I Bring by Sophie Hansen (February 27) - It’s no secret I love all of Sophie’s books, and her blog too. In my household we use Sophie’s books and recipes regularly so I am always excited to see what a new book from her will bring. There is something about Sophie’s recipes and her use of flavour and ingredients, that so often end up being exactly the kind of food I want to eat and cook. There is always a focus on fresh seasonal ingredients, but also not making things overly complicated and fussy. And Sophie’s photography always makes me want to cook everything and also wish I lived in the country! This soon to be released book is Sophie’s fifth book and it appears to be a bright, colourful and inviting look at how to answer the age old question when being invited or inviting others to your home for a meal, what can I bring?

Beatrix Bakes Another Slice by Natalie Paull (March 6) - Well this is a bit exciting isn’t it?! Another book from Natalie of the ever popular and much missed Melbourne bakery Beatrix. Natalie’s first book contains favourites from her famed bakery, and many of them were what I would consider ‘baking projects’. The kinds of recipes that feel comforting and homely, however have many elements (e.g. cake, filling and icing), so you need to put a decent amount of time aside to make them or tackle it in stages. I’m not sure if this is something we should expect from Beatrix Bakes Another Slice, or if this next cookbook will also contain a few more simple bakes that can be made with little notice or time (I have my fingers crossed for a few more biscuit recipes than the last book had). Either way, I’ll be ensuring I add this book to my collection as if I want to make a spectacular cake with lots of flavour Natalie is who I know I should turn to.

Bethlehem by Fadi Kattan (May 17) - As soon as I saw this cookbook listing in the ‘coming soon’ section of Booktopia, I knew it was one I would be interested in. As I have mentioned before, I love cookbooks that do a deep dive on a particular place/region/cuisine and Bethlehem sounds like it does just that. This book is by Franco-Palestinian chef Fadi Kattan, whom I had never heard of until now and I am very glad that I now have. Fadi will take us on a tour of Bethlehem, his home where he also has a restaurant. I know only a little about Palestinian food based on some cookbooks already on my shelves, so I am looking forward to learning more and discovering how or if the food of Bethlehem differs from other Palestinian cuisine. Despite being a tiny thing in the scheme of everything, this feels, now more than ever, so important.

Greek-ish by Georgina Hayden (April 30) - If Georgina is publishing a cookbook I will be buying it. Georgina’s cookbooks are used regularly in our household (Taverna most notably), so I know if she comes out with a new one it has to be added to our collection. These recipes are touted as Greek inspired, using fewer ingredients and suitable for any day of the week, which sounds pretty good to me! Georgina says these recipes aren’t family recipes (for those get yourself a copy of Taverna), but are all of her creation using her Greek-Cypriot heritage and travels as inspiration. Just seeing the small examples of recipes featured in this book on the description on Booktopia for this book, I can tell there will a few more family favourites found in Greek-ish.

I’ll Bring Dessert by Benjamina Ebuehi (April 5) - I absolutely love Benjamina’s previous two books (The New Way to Cake and A Good Day to Bake), so similarly to a few others on this list, I will be buying whatever Benjamina publishes. This book will focus on desserts rather than more strictly baked goods as Benjamina’s previous two books have. I’ll Bring Dessert feels like it will be a dessert focused version of what Sophie Hansen is bringing us with What Can I Bring?, and I’m thinking the two books will compliment each other well. With this book Benjamina hopes to turn the sometimes ominous question of ‘can you bring dessert?’ into a joyful experience that will have you saying ‘I’ll bring dessert!’. In Benjamina’s other books I have really enjoyed her use of flavour combinations and interesting ingredients and pairings, so I’m hoping we’ll see the same in this one.

Links to books on Booktopia removed 15/07/2024.

The Best Cookbooks of 2023

Kath January 31, 2024

This yearly list of mine could probably be renamed to ‘My Favourite Books of [insert year]’ as that’s really what this is. I’m obviously not comparing all cookbooks that were released in 2023, only the ones I personally own that were released last year. My tastes in food, flavour and cookbooks, as well as my knowledge of what’s out there across varying markets, obviously limits what books I will personally purchase in any given year and therefore what might make this kind of list.

Lots of great cookbooks were released in 2023, and this is a small selection of them. This list comprises the books that have captured me the most from last year and I can’t stop thinking or talking about. If I added everything I really wanted the list would be ridiculously long and since brevity is not my strong suit when writing, I limit myself to around five books to avoid writing too many essay length blog posts 🤣. Though if you do want more cookbook chat paid subscribers to my newsletter get even more of that! You can sign up here if you’d like to.

I’ll be back next week with the first instalment of Cookbooks Worth Waiting for in 2024, but for now lets round out 2023, another great year for cookbooks!

The Plain Cake Appreciation Society by Tilly Pamment - To say I love this book is an understatement. A cookbook has not captivated me so much in a long time. Yes, I adore other cookbooks. But something about Tilly’s book keeps me coming back and actually baking from it. For me whether I have made lots or nothing from a cookbook isn’t necessarily an indication of how good the book is - cookbooks can be useful and worthy of a place on our bookshelves for more reasons than how many recipes have been cooked out of it. However, with this book it does feel like something to mention, as so few baking focused cookbooks have drawn me in so completely and actually had me baking multiple things from them in a long time.

As I’ve mentioned previously, the photography and styling is stunning in this book, combined with the colour palette used it really draws me in and I think makes me want to try the recipes even more. Since I last spoke about this book, the Raspberry-Studded Tea Bars (p.36) have been on high rotation in our household. I think we’ve made them at least half a dozen times since September 2023. We use a friand tin as I don’t have a suitable bar tin to use, and after the first batch decided to omit the ground up tea in the recipe which makes them even simpler to make. We often have a batch in the freezer as they freeze well, and make a great gluten free, lactose free, low fodmap treat (which is why we started making them in the first place). I highly recommend this recipe and so many others from The Plain Cake Appreciation Society!

Portico by Leah Koenig - This was a long awaited release for me, as I recipe tested for this book back in 2021 (and I am doing the same for Leah’s next book!). I really like the story and the history Leah weaves through this book, which places a spotlight on Rome’s longstanding Jewish community and the food that has shaped their lives and history in such a well known culinary city as Rome. I personally really love a cookbook that does a deep dive on a particular city, area or community so Portico helps add to my collection and knowledge on Italian and Jewish cuisines in a way that shows their similarities and differences. This is done in a way that has seriously added to my recipes I want to try list, though I can highly recommend the Fennel Gratin (p.79) as this is a recipe I tested back on 2021 and loved. It’s different to a traditional gratin as there is no cream in the recipe, which is great if you are lactose intolerant or just don’t like creamy things like me. And if you love arancini, you should try the Mozzarella-Stuffed Risotto Fritters (p.140-1) also known as Suppli al Telefono as they are like the Roman Jewish cousin to arancini!

Recipes in the Mail by Amy Minichiello* - After hosting the Sydney launch of this book with Amy, I feel I can call her a friend, so my thoughts on this cookbook may be a little biased. However if you have an interest in old fashioned family recipes and connecting with the stories around those recipes you must add this book to your collection. This book has so much heart and soul, it feels like a personal invitation from Amy to join her in discovering and baking these recipes. And if you have met Amy, you’ll know that’s exactly how she is in person too. I think everyone who attended the Afternoon Tea we hosted back in August 2023 would agree (you can read more about the event and how the book came about here). The recipes in this cookbook mostly fall into the baking category with a couple of exceptions, where recipes fit for dinner are also included.

In preparation for the Afternoon Tea Amy and I hosted, we made many recipes from the book and I was able to try a few too. Standouts were Ma Lyn’s Fruit Slice (p.71) which I have made since then too, Nanna Joy’s Sausage Rolls (p.151-2) which I have also made again since the Afternoon Tea, and showing my bias completely now, I would also say my Grandma’s Pavlova (the recipe for which I shared with Amy when the Recipes in Mail project was not yet a book) with Amy’s addition of a creamy strawberry topping (p.46-7) was also a standout. Since then, one recipe has become a clear favourite for me, and that is Catherine’s Grandma’s Pikelets (p.22). In October 2023 I think I made these every week, and have made them so many times since then as well. To me they are the perfect breakfast, and any leftovers will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days ready to be heated up and topped with fruit and maple syrup (my personal topping preference) for another breakfast.

*my copy of this book was gifted to me by Amy as I contributed a recipe that was included in the book. There is no link to where this book can be bought as at the time of writing, I could not find anywhere that had it in stock (except for a $80+ copy via Amazon that would be shipping from the USA). I have seen it in some bookshops recently (Dec 23/Jan 24) Dymocks Chatswood and Novella Fine Books in Wahroonga (both in Sydney), however I would recommend asking your local/favourite bookshop if they can order it for you. Edit 26/02/24 - To find books such as Recipes in the Mail in local bookshops, use https://yourbookstore.io to find your nearest stockist or one that can ship to you, thank you to Kelly for alerting me to this great way of supporting our local bookshops online.

The Flavour Thesaurus More Flavours by Niki Segnit- A running theme you may notice about some the cookbooks I talk about in lists like this one is my appreciation for research and the work that an author does to really provide an educational element to their work. This new instalment of The Flavour Thesaurus is a massive work of research, and like the first book, this research provides so much to any one who likes cooking and wants to understand food and flavour more. I am mostly enjoying the complementary nature of The Flavour Thesaurus More Flavours with the original Flavour Thesaurus, as the second instalment continues on with the more flavours researched and explained in the same style as Niki’s first book. Between the two books there is a wealth of knowledge to work with when learning about how to pair flavour together, and The Flavour Thesaurus More Flavours included flavours I had hoped I would find in the first one but were not included. This is a great book for anyone interested in cooking beyond recipes, or like me, does recipe development work.

Malta by Simon Bajada - As mentioned above I love a book that does a deep dive on a particular place, cuisine or area so Malta immediately appealed to me. It also appealed to me as I knew basically nothing about Malta or Maltese cuisine and felt my cookbook collection could benefit from a book like this. The photography is really stunning, and between the food images and location images the reader gets a really great feel for Maltese food and a taste of what Malta would be like to visit. It looks sunny, hot and has a very Mediterranean vibe that made me feel like I was on a mini holiday looking at all the photos.

The introductory section has a really good overview of Malta, Maltese history and how Malta’s geographic location and geography itself have influenced Maltese cuisine over time. Of course the brevity means there would be so much more to discover and learn, but it is a great starting point if you like me, know little about Malta and Maltese cuisine.

Links to books on Booktopia removed 15/07/2024

Gingerbread Melting Moments

Kath December 15, 2023

These are a cross between a melting moment and a gingerbread biscuit and if I do say so myself, they are very good!

Like regular gingerbread biscuit the flavour improves over a day or two. You can mix up the spices if you like, but I highly recommend having a variety of spices like those in the ingredients list.

These would make a nice gift, however they are equally nice just to have in the biscuit jar at home for something to nibble on in the lead up to Christmas.

Gingerbread Melting Moments

Ingredients:

300g unsalted butter, softened

100g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

450g plain flour

1.5 tsp ground ginger

1.5 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp ground cardamom

Ingredients for the filling:

80g unsalted butter, softened

200g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp mixed spice

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

Method:

Preheat oven to 145 degrees Celsius, and line three large baking trays with baking paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until creamy.

Add the flour and spices to the creamed butter, and mix on low speed until a dough forms.

Roll teaspoonfuls of the dough into balls and place on the prepared trays (you should end up with 40-44 individual dough balls/biscuits) leaving a little space in between each. Then lightly press down each ball with the back of a fork so they flatten out a little. Dip your fork in flour if it is sticking to the dough.

Bake for 25 minutes. They will be cooked when the undersides of the biscuits are lightly golden. To ensure a even bake, rotate the baking trays in the oven around half way through.

Allow to cool on their trays.

Once the biscuits have cooled make the filling by beating all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment or by using a hand held mixer. Mix until light and fluffy and everything is well combined.

Pair up the cooked biscuits, and turn one from each pair over so the underside is facing up. Spread or pipe the filling on to the underside of one biscuit in each biscuit pair, then gently sandwich the paired biscuits together.

Leave the biscuits for half an hour or so for the filling to firm up a bit (you can do this in the fridge in warmer weather). Biscuits will store well in an airtight container for a few days.

Makes about 46 individual biscuits and 23 sandwiched biscuits.

Double Layer Duck Egg Sponge Cake

Kath December 6, 2023

A sponge cake is a good thing. A duck egg sponge cake is an extra good thing!

Whenever I manage to find duck eggs, which isn’t often at all, I make a sponge cake with them. Duck eggs, which can be a fair bit bigger than regular chicken eggs, give sponge cakes extra lift and height. Plus they often give an intense yellow colour to the sponge thanks to their yolks.

For this cake I used smaller duck eggs (which are similar to the size of jumbo chicken eggs), however if you have larger sized duck eggs you can reduce the amount of eggs you use by one.

This recipe can be found over on my Substack newsletter - Friday Food Chat with Kath.

Recipe Here

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Oven Poached Quince

Gingerbread Melting Moments

Kulinary Adventures of Kath

Food Photography, Recipes & Baking