It’s Not Lupus! – Quince and Almond Tarts

I like cooking and eating sweet things as much (or maybe even a little more) as the next person.  A little morsel of un-adulterated sin in ones mouth will cheer you up no matter what the mood.  Unfortunately I have one issue.  I have no finesse in the field of baking.  It’s as if a sledge hammer is a cooking utensil.  I can make things that taste great but I can’t make things that are visually appealing.  All my desserts look kind of weird and deformed.  As a result I have a serious case of dessert-envy-itis.

The symptoms of Dessert-envy-itis manifest themselves in many different ways in a somewhat random and sporadic manner.  These include:

• An unhealthy obsession with anything in the window of  Adriano Zumbo;
• Every attempt at macarons resulting in failure;
• Severe jealousy over bloggers sweet creations;
• Cookies that look and taste like ice hockey pucks; and
• Acute onset of anxiety when cooking anything with copious quantities of sugar.
  

Indeed you could say I am in some kind of “funk” when it comes to sweet things.  That is why my blog mainly addresses the savoury.  However I am not that easily beaten (unlike egg whites).  I will conquer this food Everest.  My cuisine will reign supreme.

So once again I trundled into my kitchen to attack something sweet.  Unlike Icarus I was determined not to fly too close to the sun in my attempt to escape from pastry exile.  I would like to consider this recipe an original even though I stole little bits from all over the place to create the final product.  These tarts turned out really well.  I am not scared of pastry however I usually never get it exactly right.  This time was different.  I used the reliable Maggie Beer sour cream pastry as usual but today it worked.  The crumb was amazing  the crust had a great buttery flavour.  I decided to pair the frangipane with the slow cooked quinces from Steph’s blog.  I loved the colour and wanted to try something a bit different.

Although Dr House originally started treating me for Lupus it turns out he was wrong and it was actually a severe case of Dessert-envy-itis.  After treatment with this recipe my prognosis is good.  However I have been warned that too much food porn and blogging may result it result in a relapse.  Oh dear!

Following creating these tarts and deciding to make another batch Mark successfully disabled his oven in a cloud of blue electrical smoke.  This means no baking for a while .

Quince and Almond Tarts
Adapted from Raspberri Cupcakes, Maggie’s Harvest and Australian Gourmet Traveller Makes 9 Ingredients
Pastry
150g	Chilled unsalted butter, chopped into small pieces
190g	Plain flour
90g	Sour Cream
Slow Cooked Quince
250g	Castor Sugar
250g	Water
1	Quince, peeled, cored and quartered
1	Cinnamon quill
2	Pepper corns
3	Star Anise
Almond Frangipane
200g	Castor Sugar
200g	Unsalted Butter
200g	Almond meal
1tbsp	Brandy
2	Eggs
2 tbsp	Milk
Method
Pastry tart cases.  In a food processor whiz together butter and flour.  When a fine crumb is achieved add the sour cream and whit until combined.  Pour onto a floured bench and kneed lightly.  Cover with cling film and allow to rest in the fridge for 30 mins.  Remove from the fridge and divide into 9 equal sized portions (approximately 50g each).  Roll out to approximately 10cm diameter and line an 8 cm tart tin.  Refrigerate for another 30 mins.  Meanwhile preheat oven to 180°C.  Blind bake cases with pastry weights for 10 minutes and then another 5 minutes without weights. Slow cooked quinces.  In a small saucepan dissolve the sugar into the water.  Add the quince and spices and gently simmer for about 2 ½ hours until soft. Almond frangipane.  In an electric mixer beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Gently beat in almond meal, eggs, brandy and milk.  Beat again until light and fluffy. Spoon frangipane into tart cases taking care not to overfill. Place a small piece of quince in the top of each tart.  Bake tarts in a 170°C oven for 25-30 minutes or until frangipane mixture is firm.

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