Quince, Coconut and Roasted Almond Crumble

There’s a little hint of autumn floating around like the golden flecked leaves that crunch around my feet as I walk to work now.

I’m already dreading pulling myself from underneath cosy covers and flannelette pyjamas in the morning, but not to worry. While my favourite winter coat and scarves hang impatiently in my wardrobe and the warm weather makes its last hurrah, afternoons of slow cooking to fill my home with warmth and salacious aromas from the kitchen begin to come to mind.

My grandma, Doris, is the queen of fruit crumbles and I have many fond memories of these throughout my childhood especially when the cold weather was beginning to dig in. Grandad loved my grandma’s crumble too. Sometimes, she made them with jam and other times, a crumble would materialise with a little left over stewed fruit and pastry from other baking projects with a generous sprinkle of brown sugar, coconut and roasted nuts. Once ready, Grandma would serve the crumble with some lovely warm custard or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. A simple dessert; but, immensely satisfying none the less on a chilly evening.

So when I began dreaming up recipes for my food and wine pages over at Latte Magazine for the autumn edition, a fruit crumble immediately came to mind. If you’re in Australia, you would’ve noticed quince making an understated come back in your local farmers market for the autumn season. These beauties may look knobbly on the outside with a raw crunchy texture upon peeling, but something magical happens when they are given generous amounts of time to poach in the oven or stew on the stove top. They show their true colour : a stunning crimson hue and the flesh becomes sweet and delicate in flavour.

I’ve chosen to stew them for this recipe to be eaten hot, but you might also like to poach them and eat them cold perhaps for breakfast like this or with a generous slice of soft french cheese. Enjoy xo

Quince, Almond & Coconut Crumble

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 quince peeled

5 cups water

Pinch clove powder

2 cinnamon sticks

1 cup sugar

100g cold butter

100g brown sugar

150g plain flour

2 tblsp of rolled oats

4 tblsp shredded coconut

4 tblsp flaked almonds

Method

1. Peel and slice quince, add to saucepan of water with spices and sugar. Simmer for 1 hour until quince is softened. Spoon quince into four small flan tins.
2. Rub flour, butter and sugar together then add almonds, shredded coconut and oats
3. Spoon crumble over quince and bake at 180c for 20 minutes or until golden. Top with extra almonds and coconut and serve with ice-cream or custard.

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