Quince tart – by Theo Randall

Ingredients
(serves 10-12)

For the quince paste
1kg ripe quince
500g caster sugar

For the syrup
3 quince [about 500g]
1 litre water
500g caster sugar
Zest of 2 lemons

For the pastry 250g plain flour
180g chopped butter
75g icing sugar
2 egg yolks

For the filling
200g butter
200g sugar
200g finely chopped almonds
2 egg yolks

Method

Quince paste: Place whole quince on a baking tray, cover with tin foil and bake in a moderate oven for about an hour and a half until the quince are cooked through. Leave to cool, remove skin and core. Pass through a mouli and add sugar. Place in a saucepan and cook over moderate heat for 25 minutes or until mixture comes away from the sides of the pot.

Syrup: Peel and core three raw quince and cut into wedges. Poach in syrup until cooked through.

Pastry: Place flour, butter and icing sugar in food processor and mix until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add yolks and bind together by hand. Leave to rest in fridge for one hour.

Filling: Combine butter and sugar in a food processor until smooth. Mix in almonds and add the egg yolks gradually.

Line a large tart tin with the paste and bake the tart shell blind. Cool and spoon enough of the quince paste to cover in an even layer on to the base of the shell.

Place the almond mixture on top and finely arrange the poached quince wedges on top.

Bake in a preheated oven at 150ºC for 45 minutes.

By Theo Randall