How to Bake Quince Croustades
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins
Ingredients needed to make Quince Croustades:
For the croustades:
- 3 ½ oz unsalted butter, melted
- 8 filo sheets
For the quince filling:
- 2 quinces, peeled, cored and diced
- 3 tbsp port
- 1 green cardamom pod
- 2 cloves
- Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 tbsp caster sugar
For the blueberry coulis:
- 7 oz blueberries
- 2 tbsp kirsch
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
Cooking instructions for Quince Croustades:
- Warm up your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Butter the outer surface of tart moulds and invert them onto a baking tray.
- Slice the filo pastry into 4’’ squares and each square again into two triangles; i.e, 8 small triangles in total.
- Wrap the pastry triangles around each mould so that the edges remain separate like a blossoming flower.
- Paint the junctions of the pastry triangles with melted butter and continue layer the pastry triangles until they layer the mould evenly.
- Bake the ensemble in the oven for about 10 minutes or until they turn golden brown.
- Set aside until cool enough to handle and remove the mould; set aside.
- For the filling, dump all its ingredients into a heavy-bottomed saucepan, along with 3 ½ fl oz water and cook the mixture until it starts boiling.
- Reduce to a simmer and continue to cook for about 15 minutes or until the quinces turn tender but don’t fall apart.
- Get rid of the whole spices and set aside to cool to room temperature.
- For the sauce, throw in the blueberries into another clean saucepan, along with sugar and a splash of kirsch.
- Give it a nice stir and heat the mixture until it begins to boil.
- Reduce to a simmer and continue to cool over reduced heat for a couple of minutes or until the sugar dissolves completely.
- Once the berries fall soften and fall apart, tip the mixture into a fine mesh sieve and strain it into a bowl.
- Fill the baked croustade with the quince filling and place one on each serving plate.
- Drizzle blueberry coulis over and along the sides of the croustade and sprinkle some fresh berries around the puffed pastry.
- Serve right away.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
