Blushing quince pie
Blushing quince pie SERVES 8 PREP AND COOK TIME 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES (+ REFRIGERATION TIME) 100g butter, chopped
2kg quince, peeled, cored, chopped coarsely
¾ cup (165g) caster sugar
½ cup (125ml) white wine
1 egg yolk, beaten lightly
1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar 2 teaspoons icing sugar custard, cream or ice-cream, to serve PASTRY 150g butter, softened
¼ cup (55g) caster sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste 1 egg
1¾ cups (260g) self-raising flour 2 tablespoons custard powder
1 Melt the butter in a large saucepan; add the quince and stir to coat. Add the caster sugar and wine; cook, covered, for 25 minutes. Remove lid; cook for a further 20 minutes or until the liquid has reduced and the quince are tender. Drain the quince over a bowl; cool.
2 PASTRY Beat the butter and sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and egg; beat until combined. Stir in sifted flour and custard powder. Turn pastry onto bench; knead lightly until smooth. Shape into two flat discs. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3 Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). 4 Roll one pastry disc between sheets of baking paper until large enough to line a 22cm pie dish. Ease pastry into dish; trim edge. Fill with the cooled quince (left). Brush pastry edge lightly with water.
5 Roll the remaining pastry between sheets of baking paper until large enough to cover the top of the pie. Place over the quince filling; crimp the edges together decoratively. Trim any excess pastry. Gather the pastry trimmings and roll out between sheets of baking paper for decorations. Refrigerate the pie and rolled pastry for 10 minutes or until firm. Cut out decorations from pastry with the tip of a sharp knife.
6 Brush the top of the pie with egg yolk. Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar and top with the decorations (left). Bake for about 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Dust the warm pie with sifted icing sugar and serve with custard, cream or ice-cream, if desired. Suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave. Rhubarb and raspberry crostata SERVES 6-8 PREP AND COOK TIME 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES (+ REFRIGERATION TIME) 1 bunch (500g) rhubarb, rinsed, drained, trimmed
200g frozen raspberries
¼ cup (55g) caster sugar icing sugar, to serve PASTRY 1⅔ cups (250g) plain flour ⅓ cup (55g) icing sugar ½ teaspoon salt
150g cold unsalted butter ¼ cup (60ml) iced water ALMOND PASTE 1 cup (120g) almond meal (ground almonds)
¼ cup (55g) caster sugar
50g butter, softened
1 egg, beaten lightly
1 PASTRY Sift flour, icing sugar and salt into a large bowl. Coarsely grate the butter into the dry ingredients. Rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the water and stir into a soft dough. Turn dough onto a bench and form into a thin disc. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap; refrigerate for 20-30 minutes or until firm enough to roll.
2 ALMOND PASTE Process all the ingredients to a thick paste.
3 Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Chop the rhubarb into 5cm pieces and put into a bowl with the frozen raspberries and caster sugar; toss to coat.
4 Lightly dust a large sheet of baking paper with flour and roll the Pastry out to form a rough circle approximately 30cm in diameter. Transfer the Pastry on the baking paper to a large oven tray. Spread the Almond Paste in the centre of the Pastry, leaving an 8cm border.
Top with the rhubarb mixture. Lift the sides of the Pastry up over the fruit and crimp in place (below).
5 Bake on the lower shelf of the oven for 45-50 minutes or until crisp and golden. Dust with icing sugar and serve with double cream or ice-cream, if desired. Not suitable to freeze or microwave.