Quince is a rose family fruit prized for its fragrant, dense, tart flavor. The word “marmalade” originally meant quince jam, stemming from the Portuguese “marmelo”, quince. I wanted to make something other than quince jam because the amount of sugar in most recipes is substantial, so I stewed the fruit with a small amount of sugar and several cinnamon sticks and then topped it with a delicious spelt almond cake. Quinces are a lot of work so making a jam or jelly lengthens the amount of time one can enjoy the fruit of one’s labors, but this cake was worth it with the unique texture of stewed quince in perfect opposition to spelt and almond. The cake would work well with other autumn and winter fruits too- pears, apples, persimmons... On this gray November day quince is like a wave of sunlight on a plate.

INGREDIENTS:

CAKE:

250 g butter, room temp (2 sticks +2T)
1 1/2 cup coconut sugar
1 tablespoon almond extract
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup ground almonds
3/4 cup milk, or almond milk
2 cups spelt flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

POACHED QUINCES:

6 cups cut pieces of quince from fruit that is peeled, cored, cut into quarters and then halves of quarters for about 2-incb pieces
2 cups sugar
2 cinnamon sticks

EQUIPMENT: 2 - 9x9 pans

PROCEDURE:

Place prepared quince, cinnamon sticks and sugar in a medium saucepan with enough water to cover. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until slightly pink and tender. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350F

In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and extracts until light. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Stir in ground almonds. Alternate milk and flour, mixing well. Divide the cooked quince between two 9x9 pans. Top each with half the batter. Bake for 45 mins or until a skewer inserted in center of the cake (not the fruit) comes out clean.