A Spiced Quince and Chestnut Cake

versatile dishes and hopeful wishes

Jan 31, 2022

Allô! 👋

Happy 2022!

How the heck is it nearly February already?

Time really seems to be flying by (though, at the same time, it's hard to believe that winter isn't even quite halfway through yet).

Returning to a project after a break always feels a bit like resuming an uphill bike ride after a brief stop to sip some water and enjoy the view. Despite the ride being strenuous and the pit stop well worth it, the momentum is gone — the seamlessly automatic nature of the activity has momentarily vanished and, even though a rest was needed, it feels a lot more effortful to start up again than it would have been to just keep going.

That's how I felt at the start of the month.

Still, even though getting back into the swing of things is never easy, it is more often than not well worth it (if not necessary) and a short-lived difficulty. All it takes to get through it is a bit of patient persistence.

Two and a half weeks into posting again on @allosimone (and into working out again...), and it still feels a bit like resuming a hilly bike ride. But, it also feels good to be back, and I can sense a imminent return to that challenging-yet-smooth bike ride feeling I was enjoying before I left for a phone-free winter holiday.

Speaking of comebacks: this month's newsletter includes a cake that I botched in many ways and then simply had to bake again until it was right. It also features the first recipe to be posted to the site this year. Plus: what I cooked this month after a vacation spent not cooking very much at all.

I hope you enjoy these comebacks as much as I did. I also hope this last month has treated you well.

Sending you warmth and cheer, and wishing you all the very best for the month to come,

👋simone

in case you missed them:
the comeback posts
🍲

a root vegetable soup with dumplings + an herby dressing

the perfect way to savour the season, if you ask me

📝 click here for the written how-to
📽️ or click here for the visual how-to

a french onion soup with a toasty twist

caramelised onions and grilled cheese sandwiches: a winter match made in heaven

📺 click here for the how-to

oven-simmered beans and slow-braised greens

talk about versatile! from black-eyed peas and endives to adzuki beans and cabbage, to cannellini beans and leeks... this one's all about using what you've got

📝 click here for the written post

📽️ or click here for the visual follow-along

the comeback recipe:
the beetroot + citrus, etc. salad
🍊

Speaking of versatile, this salad is precisely that: serve it warm or chilled, with feta, with farro, with quick-pickled red onions or shallots... the possibilities are as delicious as they are endless.

go to recipe

the comeback cake:
a pick-your-own-fruit-and-nut adventure
🍰

A new independent grocery store popped up on the other side of our valley recently, so of course I had to go check it out. Not only do they sell pastas and beans and spices that I haven't seen anywhere else near me, they also offer a fantastic variety of fresh fruit and vegetables. If you saw the giant Savoy cabbage and turnips post I shared not too long ago, that's where I found them. They also happen to currently sell quinces and chestnuts.

Needless to say, I had to buy some of those too.

For me, cooking starts at the shopping stage. When it comes to fresh produce, I like to buy what's looking firm and unblemished and isn't outrageously expensive — more often than not, this means seasonal produce that is both abundant and at its peak. Perfect.

The next step is coming home and storing food so it keeps well, and then figuring out what to cook and eat first depending on what can last and what cannot. With the quince and chestnuts, they could handle being left in cold storage for a few days; just enough time to decide that they would be best enjoyed in the form of a cake.

The first time I made the cake, I accidentally set the oven temperature 10 degrees too hot and didn't cut the fruit thin enough to prevent the pieces from sinking to the bottom. Then I attempted to flip the cake out of the tin a bit too early and ended up with a hot cake puzzle, of sorts, as it came out onto the counter in steaming pieces.

It was nonetheless supremely delicious, and I was almost glad to make it a second time so I could be sure to share a well-tested recipe (and nice-looking picture) with you in the newsletter. I used pears and hazelnuts in the second iteration, which makes me confident that you could mix and match or swap out the fruit (for, say, an apple) and the nuts (with almonds perhaps) to great success. So here it is!

•••

A SPICED QUINCE & CHESTNUT CAKE / A SPICED PEAR & HAZELNUT CAKE / A SPICED APPLE & ALMOND CAKE

makes a ~22cm (8.5″) wide cake, round or square, enough for 12-16 small slices

Step 1: POACHING FRUIT & MAKING SYRUP

INGREDIENTS

• 1L water
• 200g white sugar
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1 quince and/or 1 large pear and/or 1 large apple (I used 1 quince and 1 pear, but had leftovers of each to enjoy after the cake was in the oven)
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 star anise pods
• 5 cardamom pods, crushed open
• 1 vanilla bean, or 1 Tbsp vanilla extract or sugar
• 6 thick slices of fresh ginger
• the juice of 1 lemon

METHOD

1. Peel, core and quarter your chosen fruit. Set aside in a bowl with a squeeze of lemon juice over top.
2. In a large saucepan, heat the water, sugar, honey, spices, ginger and lemon juice on medium-low heat, until the liquid is simmering lightly and the sugar crystals have dissolved.
3. If using quince, add it to the poaching liquid and leave it to gently simmer for 45 minutes. If using pear or apple, leave to poach for 10-15 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a knife (and, if doing a mix, you can simply add your pear or apple 30 minutes after adding your quince quarters so that they're all done at the same time). You want to keep the fruit submerged the whole time they're poaching: to do this, you can either use a colander that is smaller than your poaching pot or some parchment paper with a steam hole cut in the middle and place in onto the fruit.
4. Once the fruit has finished poaching, remove it from the spiced liquid and set aside to cool. Turn the heat up to medium and leave the poaching liquid to simmer another 20-30 minutes until it has thickened to a more syrupy consistency. Leave to cool.
5. Once the fruit quarters are cool, cut them into 1cm / ⅓ inch -thick slices and set aside.

note: you're bound to have leftover syrup after making the cake. It'll last a while in a jar in the fridge, and you can pour it over almost anything you like, or even add it to drinks!

Step 2: ROAST THE NUTS

INGREDIENTS

• around 12 fresh chestnuts in their shells
or
• roughly 115g of hazelnuts or almonds, with their skins on
(in the end, you'll want ~110g of nuts after they've been roasted, peeled, and ground)

METHOD

1. If using the chestnuts, preheat your oven to 220°C/430°F.

2. Carefully make a shallow cut transversally across the equator of each chestnut's rounded side using a serrated knife (you'll want to score all the way down to the inner skin, or the nuts might explode in the oven).

3. Place the scored nuts into a pot of cold water and bring to a boil, then immediately transfer them with a slotted spoon to a baking sheet, flat side down and cut side up. Roast for 15-20 minutes.

4. Once cooked, remove them from the oven and leave them to rest, loosely wrapped, in a clean kitchen towel for 10-15 minutes.

5. Peel while still warm, and set aside.

If you're not using chestnuts, all you have to do is place your chosen nuts onto a sheet tray and roast them at 175°C/350°F for 7-10 minutes, then rub the skins off in a clean kitchen towel while they're still warm.

6. Once cooled, add the nuts to a food processor and pulse them until you've achieved the texture of very fine crumbs or of little grains of sand.

Step 3: MAKE THE CAKE

INGREDIENTS

• 225g unsalted butter (+ more for the tin), softened
• 225g white sugar (+ more for the tin)
• 3 eggs
• the zest of 1 lemon
• the zest of 1 orange
• 2 tsp vanilla extract or sugar
• 1 tsp powdered ginger
• 2 tsp powdered cinnamon
• 1 tsp powdered cardamom
• 110g ground chestnuts or hazelnuts or almonds
• 136g flour
• ½ tsp fine salt
• 2 tsp baking powder

METHOD

1. Preheat your oven to 165°C/330°F.

2. Grease your tin with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar using an electric beater / hand mixer until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Add the eggs in one at a time, beating briefly but thoroughly between each addition. Add the zests and vanilla and spices and keep whisking until well combined.

4. In a medium bowl, combine the ground nuts, flour, salt and baking powder. Mix until homogeneous.

5. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ones in three separate additions, gently folding one into the other until just combined.

6. Pour and smooth the batter into your prepared cake tin and distribute the fruit evenly over top, taking care not to press the fruit into the batter to avoid it sinking during the bake.

7. Bake for around 50 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden and an inserted knife comes out clean.

8. Leave to cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from the tin (if removing from the tin at all — a metal cake pan with removable sides / removable bottom is ideal for this; if using a glass or ceramic baking dish, I'd recommend not trying to remove the cake at all). Brush generously with the syrup and let cool 10-15 minutes. All that's left to do is enjoy!

note: the cake should lasts 3-4 days at room temperature, and up to 5-7 in a container in the fridge. You could also freeze individual slices for longer storage.

Pairs fantastically well with a coffee or tea for breakfast or as an afternoon pick-me-up, and is delightful served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (or simply some fresh cream) as a dessert.