Julius Roberts’ Ginger Cake, Poached Quince and Crème Fraîche
This gently-spiced ginger cake from Julius Roberts is served with delicate poached quince and lashings of crème fraîche for a celebration of autumn in dessert form.
From the book
The Farm Table
100 recipes that capture the essence of British rural life and home cooking.
Thoughtful dishes to celebrate the seasons and focus on hero ingredients.
From hearty winter stews and roasts, to fresh summer salads and desserts.
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Introduction
Thanks to a late frost, our quince tree didn’t fruit last year. But this autumn, it more than made up for it. It was laden like a Christmas tree and hanging heavy with the luminous and richly perfumed fruit. As objects, I do think quince are a work of art, making wonderful decorations on the windowsills of the house, where they glow golden yellow and fill the room with their dizzying, floral scent. While you can eat quinces raw, I think they’re at their best when cooked or preserved. They are the original ‘marmalade’, make a great jelly to go with cheese, and are unbelievable infused into vodka – I have 8 litres steeping as I write and the aroma is astonishing. But perhaps best of all, they can be gently poached so they take on a rose colour and have a sweet but sharp flavour that is just sheer joy. Here, served with a sticky spiced ginger cake, crème fraîche and lots of the poaching liquor, they make quite the winter pudding.
Ingredients
| For the ginger cake: | |
|---|---|
| 150g | dark muscovado sugar |
| 250g | black treacle |
| 150g | unsalted butter |
| 2 tsp | ground ginger |
| 1 tsp | ground cinnamon |
| ½ tsp | ground cloves |
| ¼ tsp | ground black pepper |
| 50g | grated fresh ginger |
| 280ml | whole milk |
| 2 | eggs |
| 300g | plain flour |
| 1½ tsp | baking powder |
| 1 tsp | bicarbonate of soda |
| To poach the quince: | |
| 2 litres | water |
| 300g | caster sugar |
| 8 | ripe quinces |
| 1 | lemon |
| crème fraîche, for serving |
Essential kit
You will need: a baking tin roughly 28cm x 20cm and 5cm deep.
Method
Preheat your oven to 130°C fan.
Start with the quinces. Bring the water to the boil, add the caster sugar and stir to dissolve, then keep warm. Peel and either halve or quarter the quinces, then remove the cores with a sharp teaspoon or paring knife (I find an oyster knife particularly good for this). Keep all the peelings and offcuts, as these help bring out the best colour from the quince. Place the quince quarters at the bottom of an ovenproof pan, then cover with all the peelings. Squeeze in the lemon juice and pour over the hot sugar syrup. Place a piece of baking parchment on top, then cover with a plate to submerge the quinces and place a lid on the pan. Put in the oven for 3–4 hours, until the quinces are rose-coloured and tender but not falling apart.
Remove the quinces from the oven and leave to cool, submerged in the syrup. When cold, remove all the peelings but keep the quinces submerged in syrup and place in the fridge, where they will keep happily for quite a while. Poached quince are sublime in a crumble, in frangipane tarts (page 289), with yoghurt, as in my plum recipe (page 284), all sorts of things. Serve them with lots of the syrup, but if you have any leftover liquid, it makes a fantastic cordial, cocktail or even sorbet.
Preheat your oven to 170°C fan.
To make the ginger cake, start by lining a baking tin roughly 28cm x 20cm and 5cm deep with baking parchment. Put the muscovado sugar, treacle, butter, spices and fresh ginger into a pan and place on a medium heat to dissolve. When molten, mix together and leave to cool for 15 minutes. Then add the milk, followed by the eggs, and mix again. Stir the flour with the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda to make sure they’re evenly dispersed, then sift the flour into the treacle mix and bring together, mixing thoroughly to ensure there are no lumps. Pour the runny batter into your prepared baking tin, then place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes–1 hour, until risen and cooked through. To test, insert a skewer into the middle of the cake – if it comes out clean, you’re good to go. Leave to cool for 15 minutes before slicing, then serve warm with crème fraîche, poached quince and lots of the syrup.
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