Quince Pistachio and Yoghurt Cake

Quince season in Australia is from late April to July. This underrated fruit is not very common here in Sydney and can be hard to source, so when they make an appearance at my local fruit market I get very excited. It has the most gorgeous smell like guava with a hint of honey.

When raw, quince is hard and stringy and not so very good to eat. Cooked in sugar, quince transform into a delightful coral pink colour, sometimes even ruby red. The longer quince is cooked, the more vivid the colour is. I like to poach it with little bit of honey and cinnamon. I love poached Quince as it is, and is particularly delicious and colourful in this Quince Pistachio and Yoghurt Cake.

My friend Debbie who is a chef, makes the most delicious Pear and Almond Cake. It is moist because of the Yoghurt, nutty from the almonds, not overly sweet and topped with poached pears. I’ve been nagging her for ages to give me her recipe. She’s finally come thru , she wrote it down and sent the recipe to me. The recipe here is a poached quince and pistachio variation of her original recipe. If you want the pear and almond version, just substitute the quince for pears and pistachios for almond. I think quince and pistachios go really well together. I’ve also added cardamom to give it an extra exotic twist. So if you have any poached fruits , specially Quince , give this a try. It is quite irresistible!

How to Poach Quince

Wash 3 quince well and peel. Reserve the peelings. Carefully cut in half. Remove seeds and hollow out the membrane next to the seed. Place quince hollow side up in a baking dish that will hold the quince snugly in a single layer. Add the peels. Mix 1/4 cup sugar in 1/2 cup water and pour this mix around the quinces. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of honey in each of the hollow of the quince halves. Place 1 quill of cinnamon onto the baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake in a slow 150°C oven for 1 1/2 hours. The peel contain pectins which thickens the poaching liquid. The poaching liquid is also good drizzled on top of ice cream.

What you need to make this amazing Quince Pistachio and Yoghurt Cake

• Poached Quince – maybe substituted with any other poached fruit like pears
• Pistachios– unsalted . This may be substituted with almond flour/meal.
• Yoghurt – I use full fat plain variety. Vanilla flavour can also be used but omit the vanilla essence in the recipe
• Ground Cardamom– maybe substituted with cinnamon
• Pantry Staples – plain flour, self raising flour, butter and eggs

Pistachio Quince and Yoghurt Cake

Recipe by Lola Adele

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: Desserts/Sweets

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

Poached Quince Pistachio and Yoghourt Cake

Ingredients

• 2 Poached Quince, sliced

• 2/3 cup shelled pistachios,unsalted
  or substitute with almond meal

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1 cup caster sugar

• 125g butter, room temperature

• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom

• 3 eggs

• 1/2 cup plain flour

• 1/4 cup self raising flour

• 1/2 cup Yoghurt

• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

• pistachio slivers for garnish

Directions

• Preheat oven to 160°C. Spray a 20cm diameter baking tin with cooking oil. Line Base and sides with baking paper. Spread 1 tablespoon of butter unto the baking paper and spread it up to the edge. Sprinkle evenly with brown sugar . Arrange quince slices in a nice pattern over the prepared pan.
• Place pistachios in a food processor with 1 teaspoon of caster sugar. Process until chopped finely like the texture of coarse sand. Set aside. If using almond meal, skip this step.
• Place butter caster sugar and vanilla in the bowl of mixer. Use the paddle attachment and mix on medium until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. Add yoghurt and mix until just combined.
• In a bowl, combine the plain and self raising flour, processed pistachio (or almond meal) and cardamom. Add this mix to the butter sugar mix in the mixing bowl and stir until just combined.
• Spoon this mixture into the prepared pan carefully. Level batter with the back of a spoon or spatula.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes then turn baking pan halfway and bake for another 10 minutes or until done. Remove from oven and set aside to cool completely.
• Unmold Cake into a serving platter. Remove baking paper and garnish cake with pistachio slivers if desired.