I have quite possibly made this Candied Quince and Ricotta Cake over a hundred times as it was a firm favourite when I had my café. However, in those days not all my cakes were gluten-free and so I had almost forgotten about this delicious recipe.
When I caught up with an old friend recently, who is now gluten-free, he asked if I would come up with a version of the Candied Quince and Ricotta Cake that he could eat. He fondly remembered the combination of the creamy ricotta, dotted jewel-like with candied quince and pistachios, and topped and bottomed with a rich, vanillary crumble.
Well, Mark, here it is.
We’ve used one of our gluten-free flour mixes along with almond meal for the crumble and we did actually have candied quince in the fridge, ready and waiting for such an opportunity.
But never fear, if you don’t want to cook up the quinces, any other poached fruits will work as long as they’re not too soft. Chopped glace fruit or mustard fruits, sultanas soaked in orange juice until plump or even chopped dark chocolate should also work a treat.
You may not top my heady total but I’ll bet if you make it once it won’t be your last.
Rosie
CANDIED QUINCE AND RICOTTA CAKE
Serves 10-12
Make this cake a day ahead to allow for overnight refrigeration.
Crumble Base and Top
400 gm Revenge Gluten-free Plain Flour Mix
3 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
110 gm brown sugar
115 gm almond meal
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
250 gm unsalted butter, very cold, cubed
Line a 23cm spring form cake tin or cake ring with baking paper. Preheat oven to 175°C.
Place dry ingredients into a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the egg and vanilla. With the motor running, add the butter cubes and process JUST until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Don’t over process.
Sprinkle half the crumble mix onto the base of the prepared cake tin. Reserve the other half.
Filling
750 gm ricotta
165 gm caster sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice, freshly squeezed
150 gm candied quince (see recipe below) or mustard fruits or poached or glace fruit
80 gm whole pistachio nuts
Icing sugar and extra pistachios, chopped, to serve
Whipped cream to serve
Place the ricotta, caster sugar and orange juice in a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl.
If using candied quince or poached fruit, make sure they are very well drained then chop into 2cm pieces. If using mustard or glace fruit, chop into 1/2cm pieces.
Fold the fruit and pistachios into the ricotta mix and spread over the crumble base. Top with remaining crumble mix to cover.
Bake for 1 hour. Allow to cool in the tin on a cooling rack then refrigerate overnight before removing from the tin.
Serve dusted with icing sugar, sprinkled with the extra pistachios and served with whipped cream.
CANDIED QUINCE
4 quinces
2 lemons, juice only
1 litre water
700 gm caster sugar
750 ml water
Preheat oven to 130°C.
Peel, core and cut quinces into eighths, retaining the cores and peel. Combine lemon juice in a large bowl with water and place each quince as you prepare it into the acidulated water to prevent it oxidising.
Place the caster sugar and water in a medium saucepan over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
Place the quince cores and peel in a large piece of muslin or similar and tie loosely together.
Place the quince pieces in a baking dish so they fit snugly and cover with the sugar syrup. Place the muslin-encased cores and peel over the top. This helps give the quinces their trademark deep red colour. Place a piece of baking paper directly on top of the muslin and then cover with a tightly fitting lid or foil and bake for 4 hours or until the quinces are a dark red colour but still holding their shape.
Allow to cool in their syrup, discard cores and peel, then transfer quinces to sterilised jars, ensuring they are covered by the syrup.
Store in the fridge. Quinces should last for up to 12 months.
TIP: Quinces have a short season and are time consuming to prepare. We usually make a double batch so we always have some on hand.