Quince Tart

Hey there!

 

Today will be my series of daily cooking sessions is coming to an end and so is my autumn holiday. I decided to enjoy the last few hours of freedom before school starts all over again with a delicious quince tart. As you might have realised I like to challenge myself when preparing sweets, I don’t mind an ordinary cake with flour, eggs and milk. But I like to experiment so, this deliciousness will be gluten free as well as completely vegan. I’m nor vegan nor allergic to gluten I just find it interesting to immerse into different eating habits. So this cake is specially dedicated to all those gluten free vegans out there.

 

I will call this creation a tart because well that is what it looks like, at least in my opinon, nevertheless if you google a tart recipe you’ll most likely find something totally different than what I am going to show you today.

 

First and for most, I didn’t add any flour, which would be a crucial ingredient in any traditional tart. Instead I used very fine polenta as well as some ground almonds as a base for the batter. To make the whole thing stick together I used some soymilk and water. For flavouring I decided to go with the classics, vanilla and cinnamon and to step out of the ordinary I also added a splash of Marsala wine. The final ingredient I added was some agave syrup to sweeten the whole thing.

 

The outcome didn’t only end up looking quite amazing no it also tasted absolutely delicious. The consistency reminded me of the semolina pudding my mum used to make when I was little, which I absolutely loved. If you are expecting a typical cake you’ll most likely be disappointed with this creation but since you now know that this is something different you’ll surely be stunned. The quince just harmonised perfectly with the Marsala and the added vanilla and cinnamon just completed it to a perfect explosion of flavours hitting your taste buds. Truly divine, believe me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now it’s time to try it for yourself, so there you go…

 

…the recipe:

 

Ingredients

 

• 1 big quince
• 1tsp cinnamon
• 3tbs Marsala
• ¼ tsb vanilla powder (I used coop naturaplan bio vanilla bourbon)
• 1 vanilla bean
• 6tbs agave syrup
• 100g polenta
• 300ml soymilk
• 200ml water
• 1tsp baking powder
• 2tbs ground almonds

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C
2. Slice your quince into thin slices, transfer to a bowl and add 1tbs of Marsala, 1tsp of cinnamon, ¼ tsp of vanilla powder and 1tbs of agave syrup, evenly coat all the quince slices with the marinade, put aside
3. While your quince slices are marinating you can prepare the polenta base. Add soymilk, water, 5tbs of agave syrup, 1tsp of baking powder, 2tbs of Marsala and the inside as well as the outside of the vanilla bean to a sauce pan, let the mixture come to a boil and stir occasionally so nothing gets stuck to the bottom of the pan
4. When the soymilk mixture is boiling turn off the hear and add the polenta, whisk it in, when the polenta has been whisked in to the soymilk mixture also add 2 tbs of ground almonds and remove the vanilla pod, put the mixture aside
5. Now place your marinated quince slices in a lined twenty cm cake tin, also grease the sides with some vegetable oil, so nothing sticks afterwards.
6. When your quince slices are nicely arranged in a circle evenly cover it with the polenta mixture and bake for about 30 minutes or until the polenta has browned slightly.
7. Take your tart out of the oven, let it cool for about 20 minutes and then turn it upside down on a serving platter, make sure you go along the sides with a knife prior to doing so, just in case greasing the pan didn’t work, you wouldn’t want to end up with a broken tart after all this work, would you?

 

Voila, now your delicious polenta quince tart is finished. I served mine with some quince marsala and almond compote but I’d say some vanilla ice cream wouldn’t be to bad with it either. Or just enjoy it plain as is, maybe sprinkle it with some cinnamon, which to be honest it just for the looks, but I personally like my food to look nice, as you might have realised. So whatever way you plate it up, when your done sit down with a cup of coffe or tea and enjoy your piece of cake.

This is such a yummy treat, great for afternoon tea on a lovely autumn Sunday or well just on any autumn day, the taste won’t change I can guarantee you that much.

 

That’s it for today.

Bisous

Fanny, the foodie