Upside-Down Quince Cake. Use in season quince to make this glorious upside-down cake. The light and fluffy sponge soaks up the delicious taste of caramelised quince perfectly, serve with a generous dollop of whipped cream.
Serves 8
2 1/2 cups caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick
6 whole cloves
rind of 1 lemon, finely grated
3 large quinces, quartered and peeled
150g unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
11/2 cups plain flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup almond meal
fresh cream, to serve
1 Preheat oven to 180°C. Place 11/2 cups sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and lemon rind in a large saucepan with 6 cups water and bring to the boil. Add quince and cover with baking paper.
2 Cook, covered, for 11/2 hours or until tender and deep red. Remove quince and set aside to cool. Strain syrup and return to pan. Cook for 5 minutes or until syrup thickens. Pour into a jug and set aside. Makes 11/2 cups syrup.
3 Remove cores from quince and slice each quarter into 4 wedges. Grease and line a 22cm cake tin and arrange quince slices in the bottom of the cake tin in concentric circles, slightly overlapping. Pour over 1 cup of syrup.
4 To make cake, place butter, remaining sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 minutes or until light and creamy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Add flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, nutmeg, ginger, and almond meal and beat until just combined. Spoon mixture over quince and smooth with spatula.
5 Bake for 55-60 minutes or until golden and springy to the touch. Cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then turn out onto a serving plate. Reheat remaining syrup and pour over the top. Serve with fresh cream.
