Shortbread barsPlate from
Chee Soon & Fitzgerald.
Quince tartsGrey plate
(under bowl) from Made of
Australia. Plate from Slab
and Slub. All other props
stylist’s own. Stockists p168.445 gm sour cream shortcrust
pastry (see note)
1 egg, beaten, for eggwash
Pure icing sugar (optional),
for dusting
POACHED QUINCE
2 small quince
375 gm caster sugar
1 rooibos tea bag
½ lemon
ROOIBOS CUSTARD
225 ml pouring cream
1 rooibos tea bag
½ tsp coriander seeds,
dry-roasted (see cook’s
notes p168) and cracked
with a mortar and pestle
4 egg yolks (75gm)
30 gm caster sugar
1 For poached quince, peel
quince (reserve peel), trim
ends and cut in half lengthways.
Place the quince, peel and
trimmings in a single layer in
a saucepan, add sugar, tea and
750ml water. Squeeze lemon
juice into pan and add lemon
half to pan. Bring to the boil,
remove tea bag, then cover
quince directly with a round of
baking paper. Reduce heat to
low and cook very gently,
topping up with water when
necessary to keep fruit covered,
until quince turns a deep ruby
colour (4-5 hours). Cool to
room temperature, then trim
cores (discard) from 3 quince
halves and thinly slice. Reserve
remaining quince for another
use (such as breakfast).
2 Meanwhile, preheat oven
to 180°C. Cut out rounds from
pastry using a 12cm cutter and
Quince, rooibos and
coriander seed tarts
MAKES 8 // PREP TIME 30 MINS // COOK 5 HRS (PLUS COOLING)
“By all means increase the quantity of quince you make
for this recipe,” says Lee. “The reward for all that time and
labour will be wonderful perfumed, ruby-red quinces to
enjoy for the rest of the season, over coconut yoghurt
or porridge for breakfast, or in muins and cakes.”
line eight 8cm loose-based
tart tins. Refrigerate until firm
(30 minutes), then trim excess
pastry. Blind-bake pastry shells
until light golden brown and set
at top edge (15 minutes; see
cook’s notes p168). Remove
paper and weights, and bake
until golden and cooked
through (5-10 minutes). Press
and flatten any pastry that has
pufed with a tea towel. Brush
with eggwash to seal, then bake
until set (1-2 minutes).
3 For rooibos custard, bring
cream, tea and coriander seeds
to a simmer in a small saucepan
over medium heat. Remove
from heat and set aside to
infuse (30 minutes), then
warm through over low heat.
Whisk egg yolks and sugar in
a medium bowl to combine,
then add warm cream mixture,
whisking gently to combine.
Strain into a jug and stand for
5 minutes to settle. Skim any
froth from the surface of the
custard before using.
4 Preheat oven to 130°C and
warm pastry shells (1-2 minutes).
Divide quince slices between
shells, top each with custard
and bake until custard is just
set with a slight wobble in the
middle (15-20 minutes). Cool,
and serve dusted with icing
sugar, with some reduced
quince poaching syrup. Tarts
are best eaten slightly warm
or on the same day.
NoteCarême Sour Cream
Shortcrust pastry is available
in supermarkets.●