Ok now it's not that urgent anymore. I saved the quinces because I didn't have a T&T recipe, and they're quite expensive and I need a T&T recipe, preferrably a cake.

It crossed my mind I could replace apple with quince in apple cake recipes? Anyone here ever tried that?

I'm sorry! I saw your post but I think the only quince I've had much of is store-bought jam! They grow much closer to you than to me. :) So I looked them up on Wikipedia which implied that a little goes a long way.

So this one from Fine Cooking isn't tried (by me who hasn't handled quinces), so I don't know if it's true, but it reads well, and shows off the quinces beautifully. So given that presentation, I'm thinking you could adapt any kind of tarte tatin, or fruit topped cake (i.e., one with enough strength to hold up the fruit). I'm thinking the quince would be too strong to substitute for apple in my apple cake. Going by the flavor of the jam (from Wikipedia, I also learned that marmalade originally meant quince jam!), I think it might be good as a compote between layers. If the quince isn't in the batter itself, the cake will tone it down if it's very strong.

Do you know any Algerians? They might have a T&T quince cake.

Good luck!

Thank you for taking the trouble to look for a recipe. The cake looks just fabulous. Poaching instructions are definitely useful. I don't think poached quince will survive 2 days, let alone 2 weeks, in my fridge. They'll get devoured.

Unfortunately I don't know any Algerians.

I wonder if there's a recipe with raw quince? Perhaps grated quince? So that it softens and mellows during baking & imparts its scent and flabour to the dough? I mean a recipe that doesn't use parboiled or poached fruit?

Grated quince might work. Even if I were using grated, I think I'd sauté it before putting it in. Thinking again of apple cake, it just doesn't take that much. How many did you buy?

Have you seen this blog's cake? Even though the quince is in the batter, it is also poached, and she says that most of them were eaten just poached, as you said. :)

So, I got out the cookbooks: Yotam Ottolenghi says in Plenty: "The daunting thing about quince is the preparation. Although it has the innocent look of, say, an apple or a pear, it is rock hard and requires long cooking before becoming edible." That was the intro to a quince and gorgonzola salad for a lady who didn't know what to do with the quince on her tree. For a cake it might not be so bad, but it explains why, in the abstract, it's usually cooked before going in the cake. In Jerusalem, he has lamb stuffed with quince, pomegranate and cilantro.

In Aromas of Aleppo, Poopa Dweck (yes, a Jewish name) has
candied quince, quince paste and stuffed eggplant with quince, but no
cake.

Quince is absent from the indices in all of my baking books. My Morrocan cookbook has a couple of tagines with it. Joy of Cooking, being a very broad compendium, does have quince: Jam, jelly, canned and baked. I.e., something to do with them. Feast from the Mideast has citrus and spiced quince.

That's everything I can reach easily that has quince. More recipes for making quince paste, but many with no Q's at all, or only "quiche" or "quickbread". Joy is the only North American one that has quince at all.

So in a last ditch effort to find you some online Algerian ladies, I found an Australian quince-tastic site. Many of the recipes use quince paste (recipe for paste is also there), but some use fresh.

Every baking recipe I've found requires cooking the quince first. Since you asked for Tried and True, I've gotta say, the universally tried and true step is poaching, jellying, or baking the quinces first.

Good luck with them!

You deserve a PhD Quince. Thank you so much for doing such thorough research!

I bought 3 huge ones and 2 just big ones. Can't remember how much they weighed. Possibly over 4 pounds? Close to 5 pounds?

The blog's cake looks just like what I have in mind. I think I'll poach the lot of them and use about a third in an apple cake recipe instead of the apples.

I never heard ot Yotam O. Checked his bio on Wiki. Wow!

Wow indeed! I haven't made many of his recipes yet, but they all sound one better than the next. You're welcome for the research. Thank-you for giving me a good puzzle!

I think your plan sounds excellent. I think the flavor of quince in an apple cake recipe will be great. And you'll have the poach quinces to just enjoy, or put in a tart or whatever else seems good at the moment. :)

I have a number of Quince recipes, but none for a cake. I agree that quinces should be cooked some way before using.... baking in a batter isn't long enough.

Yesterday I was going over my first recipe box and found these two quince recipes. Thought I would share with you.

Quince Custard Pie

2 large ripe quince

1 t. lemon juice

2 T. melted margarine or butter

3 eggs separated

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 t. nutmeg

1/4 t. cinnamon

1 c. milk

1/3 c. sugar

1/8 t, salt

1 nine inch unbaked pie shell

Peel and quarter quinces. Cook until tender. Put through food mill. Should yield one cup. Add the half cup of sugar, lemon juice, nutmeg, cinnamon and butter. Beat egg yolks until thick, add milk. Add to quince mixture. Pour into pastry shell. Bake in hot oven 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes till custard sets. Make meringue from egg whites adding the 1/3 cup of sugar and salt. Spread over pie and brown in hot oven 400 degrees.

Honey Baked Quince

6 quinces, peeled and cored

2 T. honey

1/8 t. grated lemon peel

1 T. sugar

Water

Cream

Place quinces in shallow baking dish. Fill each with honey with lemon rind added. Sprinkle with the sugar. Add water to cover bottom of pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or until soft, basting occasionally. Serve with cream, plain or whipped. Serves 6 The recipe does not say if that amount is for the whole recipe or for each quince.

I have never made these but have had them in my recipe box for 40 years. We had some kind of trees thought to be quince when we moved here and my sister gave me those recipes. Whatever the fruit was, they were sure hard when raw. I did can some and they were rather pear like. I think now they have died out as they were just growing in our woods.

Sue

Kate - you're right, alas! Thanks!

Marilyn Sue - Many thanks for sharing your recipes. I particularly like the lemon peel touch. I'm looking forward to trying it. I've got a feeling it'll turn a wonderful dish into a fabulous one.

You are most welcome, Wintercat.

Sue