Recipe: Quince and Almond Financiers
Quince and Almond Financiers with Custard Apple Ice Cream
-gluten free-
Makes 6
Ingredients
For the Financiers
• 2 quinces, peeled, quartered and seeded
• l 50gm castor sugar
• ½ vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 whole cloves
• finely grated zest of 1 orange
• 2 tbs plum or raspberry jam to glaze
For the Frangipane mix
• 1 20gm unsalted butter
• 150gm castor sugar
• 200gm ground almonds
• 2 eggs
For the Ice Cream
• 2 cups custard apple puree
• 1 cup thickened cream
• ½cup milk
• 80gm castor sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• ½ vanilla bean, split and scraped
Method
Lay the quince quarters in a single layer in a small baking tray and sprinkle over the sugar to completely cover. Add the vanilla, cinnamon and doves, cover tightly with foil and bake overnight (about 12 hours) at 100c or until they turn a deep crimson red.
Put the butter, sugar, eggs, almond meal and orange zest into a food processor and blend until smooth. Chill for 2 -3 hours. Spoon the almond mixture into 6 greased small rectangular baking tins. Dice each quince quarter into 6 pieces and press into the top of the almond mix. Bake at 180C for 25 – 30 minutes. Warm the jam and mix with an equal amount of the quince cooking syrup. Once the financiers have cooled, brush on the jam mixture with a pastry brush to glaze.
To make the ice cream, press the ripe pulp of 2-3 custard apples through a sieve until you have 2 cups of puree. Chill. Place the cream, milk and vanilla in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar, and slowly whisk in the boiling milk mixture until well combined. Return to the saucepan and stir over a low heat until the custard thickens slightly and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Cool.
Mix together the ice cream base and the custard apple puree and churn in an ice cream machine. If you don’t have an ice cream machine, pour the mixture into a plastic wrap lined tray and freeze until well set. Break into pieces, quickly blend in a food processor to disperse the ice crystals and refreeze. Serve with the quince syrup and a good dollop of custard apple ice cream.
