Apple meringue for dessert – or quince?

We talk about all sorts of things at our book club, and someone just mentioned quinces and how she had never cooked with them before and how delicious they were. I haven’t had any this year, but in the past I’ve used them in pies and crumbles and made failed attempts to produce wine – I could have said fruitless!!

In the October suggested menu in my Modern Practical Cookery, authors unknown, published in the early 1930’s but no doubt with recipes from earlier, there is apple meringue for dessert. I thought how seasonal it would be to use quinces instead of apple!

The recipe’s instruction say to peel, core and quarter the fruit before cooking – however, quinces are so hard, I always wash and then cook them whole, so that is what I suggest. The amount of sugar will always vary according to how sweet the fruit is, and to taste; quinces are quite tart, so the amount of sugar is only a guide.

Quince meringue

• 2 lbs of cooked, sieved quince, sweetened to taste
• 3 eggs, separated – yolks beaten, whites whisked with 3 tbsp castor sugar
• zest of lemon
• 2 oz glacé, preserved or stem ginger, chopped small
• 1 oz butter
• glacé cherries, angelica to decorate (or anything of your millennial choice!)

1. add the butter, ginger and zest to the warm fruit, stir to mix
2. stir in the beaten egg yolks and mix really well
3. put the fruit mixture into an ovenproof dish and pipe on the whipped egg whites
4. bake for about 15 mins, 180° C, gas mark 4, 350° F

The suggested accompaniment is cream… but would ice-cream be rather nice? Something fancy maybe? I think so!

So pretty!