Ever since I started cooking with quinces a few weeks ago I’ve been dreaming up ways to enjoy this magnificent fruit.
So when Sweet Adventures‘ Sweet As Pie bloghop rolled around, I decided quinces had to be the star ingredient. But what type of pie would I make?
After a couple of false starts I settled on this Quince Meringue Pie, a kind of mish-mash of my Free-Form Apple Tart and my Mini Lemon Meringue Pies, using slow-roasted quinces.
Yes, roasting the quinces takes some hours. I’m not going to lie; this is not a dessert that can be made on the spur of the moment. But good things come to those who wait so think of this pie as the culinary equivalent of your perfect partner – chances are, it won’t be the first person you fall for.
Speaking of love, don’t you just love that fat wedge of meringue? The good folks at Filtered Media sent me a red KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer to try and it produced the most magnificent meringue. I’d made this recipe the day before using my hand mixer and the stand mixer produced a noticeably larger volume of meringue. It was super easy, too – I just set it to mix and pottered around the kitchen while it worked its magic.
By the way, I’m trying to reduce the amount of sugar I eat so I used way less sugar than usual in both the quinces and the meringue. And you know what? I didn’t miss the extra sugar at all. It’s perfect just as it is.
So tell me dear reader, what dessert are you willing to wait for?
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Sweet Adventures is a group of Aussie foodbloggers – 84th & 3rd, The Capers of the Kitchen Crusader, Delicieux, Dining With a Stud, and I, The Hungry Australian, who host a monthly, dessert-themed blog hop. Previously, we have hosted:
- Tea (May 2012)
- Lemons (April 2012)
- Layer upon Layer (March 2012)
- Love at First Bite (February 2012)
- Death by Chocolate (January 2012)
- Festive Favourites (December 2011)
- Australian Pavlova (November 2011)
To take part in this month’s hop head over to the delightful The Capers of the Kitchen Crusader where you can find out all about how to link up your own pie recipe. And don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of this post to check out all the other pie recipes.
- 4 quinces
- 3 tablespoons verjuice
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
- 1 egg yolk, beaten
- 2 egg whites at room temperature
- ¼ cup sugar
- Preheat your own to 140 degrees Celsius (120 degrees fan-forced).
- Line baking tray with baking paper.
- Peel the quinces (retaining peels) then cut into quarters.
- Core each quarter (retaining cores) and then slice into three pieces, length-wise.
- Arrange quince skin on baking paper, then cover with slices and cores.
- Sprinkle over verjuice and ¼ cup sugar.
- Wrap baking tray securely in tinfoil to create a seal.
- Bake in oven for four hours.
- Read, watch a movie, do your washing, have a nap or whatever you like to pass the time. You can even do the quinces the night before.
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees fan-forced).
- Take one sheet of puff pastry out of the freezer and leave to thaw on kitchen bench.
- Meanwhile, get on with making the meringue.
- Beat two, room-temperature egg whites until stiff peaks form.
- Add ¼ cup sugar gradually, making sure to beat it in well.
- Beat until meringue is thick, glossy and firm.
- Next, line a tray with baking paper.
- Place puff pastry on top and then arrange quinces on top in an artistic pattern.
- Fold edges of the pastry in and brush with egg yolk.
- Spoon meringue on top, being careful not to bash the air out of it. Gently, gently.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until pastry is brown and top is a uniform beige.
- Use a blow torch to create scorch marks if desired.
