Quince, cinnamon and ginger cake

Name: Quince, cinnamon and ginger cake
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1 large quince (you’ll need 300g after removing the peeland core); 300g plain flour; 1 tsp cinnamon powder, plus½ tsp extra for sprinkling; 1 tsp ginger powder, plus ½ tsp extra for sprinkling; 1 tsp baking powder; ½ tsp baking soda; ¼ tsp fine sea salt; 160g unsalted butter, atroom temperature, plus 10g extra for greasing the cake tin; 280g caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp extra for sprinkling; 40ml olive oil; finely grated zest of 1 lemon; 1 tsp vanilla; 2 eggs

Helen Goh

March 17, 2023

No need to cook quince low and slow in this case, the diced fruit softens within the baking time.William Meppem

easyTime:1-2 hoursServes:8

Quinces are commonly cooked long and slow and, in the company of sugar, turn an extraordinary ruby-red. The transformation is both impressive and appealing, but I sometimes miss the intense fragrance and tartness of the raw fruit.

Quinces are mostly inedible when uncooked, of course, although some varieties aren’t quite as astringent and can be eaten raw. In this cake, the quince is diced just small enough to soften in the time it takes the batter to cook.

For all that it’s missing in colour, the fruit retains its heavenly scent and delightful pop of acidity and freshness. Substitute with tart green apple when quince is out of season.

Ingredients

1 large quince (you’ll need 300g after removing the peel
and core)
300g plain flour
1 tsp cinnamon powder, plus
½ tsp extra for sprinkling
1 tsp ginger powder, plus ½ tsp extra for sprinkling
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp fine sea salt
160g unsalted butter, at
room temperature, plus 10g extra for greasing the cake tin
280g caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp extra for sprinkling
40ml olive oil
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

Method

Step 1
Peel and halve the quince, remove the core, then chop into roughly 1cm dice: you’ll need 300g altogether for this cake.
Step 2
Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 20cm round cake tin with the extra 10g butter, then line with baking paper.
Step 3
Sift the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a small bowl.
Step 4
Preheat the oven to 170C fan-forced (190C conventional).
Step 5
Place the butter, sugar, oil and lemon zest in the bowl of an electric cake mixer and beat with the paddle attachment on medium speed until creamy (about 2 minutes). Add the vanilla and eggs, one at a time, mixing on medium-low speed until blended. Scrape the bowl to ensure the batter is evenly mixed, then add half of the sifted, dry ingredients and blend on low speed for a few seconds. Scrape down the bowl once again, then repeat with the remaining dry ingredients, blending until the dough just comes together.
Step 6
Remove the bowl from the mixer, then add the diced quince and fold through the batter with a flexible rubber spatula. The batter will be quite stiff; fold just enough times to ensure the quince is evenly distributed, then scrape the batter into the prepared tin.
Step 7
Combine the extra 1 tbsp sugar with the extra 1 tsp cinnamon and ginger powders and sprinkle all over the top of the cake. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 60-70 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Step 8
Cool the cake on a wire rack for 15 minutes before transferring to a serving plate.