By popular demand (ok..one person thanks Alice Zaslavsky) and the abundance of the Season (autumn here in oz) I bring you Roast Quince. This is a sweet (ish) variation on this beautiful fruit and a dessert for people who like theirs on the savoury side. Death row supper? This and a couple of slices of aged farmhouse cheddar.

A couple of notes; when I say ‘suitable ceramic baking dish’ I mean no need for social distancing and it’s not Uber ride share. If you want to make the custard but the fear is upon you, add a dessert spoon of cornflour to the eggs and whisk it in. A little hack for you to custard with confidence.

Also - bonus round - you’ll see a quince jelly recipe below to make these beauties last until next season.

Roast Quince & Custard

Quince

3 Quince
120 g raw sugar
3 tablespoons honey
120 gm salted butter
juice and zest of 1 lemon
juice and zest of 1 orange
2 star anise
3 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 fresh bay leaves
Preheat the oven to 170°C

wash the quince well to remove the brown fluff
Cut the quince in quarters
remove the seeds
place in a suitable ceramic baking dish.
Add the sugar, honey, citrus juice and zest
Add the star anise, cloves, cinnamon stick and bay leaves
Cut the butter into slices
place a slice of butter on each piece of quince
cover the quinces with a sheet of baking paper
bake until the quince are soft, around two hours.
baste with the cooking juices from time to time
Serve warm.

Custard

250 ml full-cream milk
250 ml pouring cream (35%)
2 vanilla beans, split and seeds scraped
120 g caster sugar
6 egg yolks

Put the milk, split vanilla beans and their seeds and half the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat.
Put the egg yolks in a large bowl and whisk in the remaining sugar until pale and a light mousse forms.
When the milk starts to rise in the pan, whisk it into the eggs in a thin stream to avoid curdling the eggs.
Whisk well and then return to the pan.
Cook over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until it thickens (just on 80°C).
Pour the custard through a sieve into a clean bowl set over an ice bath
whisk slowly from from time to time to cool and prevent splitting.

Quince Jelly

1.5 kg sugar
2.25 kg quince
juice of 1 lemon

Put 2.5 litres (85 fl oz/10 cups) water and the sugar in a 4 litre (135 fl oz/16 cup) saucepan and bring to the boil
Reduce the heat to a low simmer.
Quarter and core the quince, adding the pieces to the saucepan as they are cut, along with the cores and seeds.
Cook over medium heat until the quince are soft and light pink, around 3 hours.
Strain the liquid through a fine sieve. Reserve the quince for another use, discarding the cores and seeds.
Return the quince syrup to a clean saucepan.
Juice the lemon and add both the juice and the squeezed lemon to the quince syrup and cook on a low simmer until the temperature reaches 110°C (230°F) and is a ruby red colour.
Sterilise three 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cup) preserving jars. (by putting them in an 80c oven for an hour)
Pour the hot syrup into the jars and close the lid. Invert the jars to create a seal and leave to cool.
This will last for many months in a dark cool cupboard.

Roast Quince and Custard