Taylor Swift is in her tortured poet era, and I’m in my quince era. What can I say? I love how those rock hard, green softballs transform with a little time, a little sugar, and a little liquid into something so fragrant and colorful. Not to mention, when they’re cooked, they taste like honey and apple had a baby.
So far this year, I’ve made quince preserves, but now we turn our attention to a quince cake. Specifically the spiced-quince brown-butter cake from Claudia Fleming’s legendary cookbook, The Last Course. Claudia Fleming was the pastry chef at The Gramercy Tavern and became famous for integrating seasonal farmer’s market produce into her desserts. This quince cake is a perfect example of that.
Classy Quince
This book, which would make a great gift for a home baker who loves going to farmer’s markets, is capital “e” Elegant. It just oozes class and good taste. And this recipe, which seems simple enough, has various grace notes that give it that signature Claudia Fleming stamp.
The poaching liquid has dry white wine, a whole clove stuck into a 2-inch strip of orange peel, 1/2 a cinnamon stick, and star anise (an underused drag name). The cake has cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, orange zest, and, most notably, a whole stick of butter that you brown in a skillet.
Is It Cake?
The technique for the cake is pretty unusual. She has you put the dry ingredients in the mixer with the egg whites, and you beat until moistened. Then on low speed you drizzle in the browned butter.
I deserve high marks for the color of that butter! That’s what you’re going for when you brown butter.
Another grace note: you bake the cake in a tart pan. How elegant is that? Just be sure to butter it well or it might stick when it comes out (confession: that happened to me; see lead photo).
It’s Not Quince Cake without the Quince
As for the quince, when you’re done poaching it, you dry it on paper towels.
They look like apricot-colored jewels.
Then you just layer it on to the batter in concentric circles.
Into a 400 degree oven it goes and out it comes 25 minutes later.
To serve, I dusted with powdered sugar. You could serve with ice cream — Claudia Fleming suggests her Brandied-Fig Ice Cream — but this was great on its own. The quince has so much complexity from the spices and the cake has so much complexity from the browned butter. So the next time you see a quince out in the wild, buy it.
And Taylor Swift, if you’re reading this, get ready for your Quince Era.
Spiced-Quince Brown Butter Cake
Ingredients
Method
- To prepare the quince, in a large saucepan, combine the quince, 3 cups water, the sugar, wine, orange peel with clove, cinnamon, and star anise. Cut a round of parchment paper slightly smaller than the pot and lay it on top of the quince (this will keep the fruit submerged; you can also use a sturdy, heatproof plate).
- Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the quince is tender and spongy, about 1 1/4 hours. Drain the quince pieces on layers of paper towel. Discard the liquid (or reduce it and use it to make a cocktail!).
- To make the cake, preheat the oven to 400 F. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Continue to let the butter cook until the white milk solids fall to the bottom of the skillet and turn a rich hazelnut brown. Strain the browned butter through a fine sieve into a clean bowl, discarding the solids.
- Sift together the confectioners' sugar, almond flour, cake flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom. Place the sifted ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. On the lowest speed, add the egg whites and orange zest; mix until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase the speed to medium and beat until very smooth. Decrease the speed to low and stir in the browned butter, then increase the speed to medium and beat until smooth.
- Butter a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom or a springform pan. Pour in the batter and smooth the top. Arrange the quince slices on the batter. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Remove the sides of the pan before serving.
Leave a Reply