Quince Crumble with Salted Caramel Ice Cream
Author and Photographer: Maddie Lee
If you are anything like my mother, you have Thanksgiving dessert down to a science:
Step one: drive to Whole Foods. You are not looking for just any dessert but rather one that can pass as home-cooked – no fancy floral fondant or triple-boiled buttercream frosting.
Step two: remove the packaging and transfer it to a platter. Maybe even mess up the icing a little so that it looks like it was “baked with love.”
Step three: nod and smile humbly when your guests compliment the excellent dessert.
Yes, my mother’s audacity is shocking. But even more surprising: there are some very simple holiday recipes that require far less time and effort than a trip to Whole Foods – and actually deserve the compliments that are doled out after Thanksgiving. And if you have both time restraints and a tight budget (a.k.a the college lifestyle), I have an especially suitable idea that never fails to impress in sophistication. You just need to hunt down an unconventional ingredient – quince– and dress up the concoction with a fanciful scoop of ice cream.
So, what is a quince? A quince is an aromatic, yellow-green fruit that tastes like a cross between an apple and a pear. The fruit itself is too sour and hard to eat raw, and must be cooked and paired with apples or berries to counter the tang. I have come to associate quinces with East Coast autumns, as they tend to show up in orchards or farmers markets around November. Though the seasonality differs in the Midwest, you should also be able to find your fix at various farmer’s market locations around Chicago, as well as at Hyde Park Produce, which offers an excellent selection of seasonal fruits and vegetables.
If you are feeling up to the challenge, try the Salted Caramel Ice Cream recipe as well. The creamy texture of this ice cream provides the perfect complement to the aromatic sharpness of the quince and the crunch from the streusel. Though you will need an ice cream maker and some careful time management, the satisfaction of watching the first slow scoop peel away from the ice cream container will be well worth the extra trouble.
Recipe: Quince Crumble
(adapted from King Arthur)
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40-50 minutes
Serving Size: 9 to 12 slices
Ingredients:
Filling
1.5 lbs or about 3 tart apples (Gold Rush, Ida Red, or Rhode Island Greenings)
1.5 lbs or about 3 quinces
½ C rum
2 tbsp butter, melted
0.75 C (6 oz) brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
4 tsp nutmeg
4 tsp ground ginger
3 tbsp unbleached AP flour
¼ tsp salt
Streusel
¾ C flour
¾ C old-fashioned rolled oats
½ tsp salt
¾ C brown sugar
¾ tsp cinnamon
4 tsp baking powder
12 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp molasses (optional)
½ C pecans, toasted (optional)
Ingredients
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Prep the fruits. Peel, core, and slice the apples into one-fourth inch wedges. For the quince, peel them before slicing lengthwise and cutting into wedges. Use a paring knife to remove the core.
Place the fruit in a bowl with the remaining ingredients (rum, butter, brown sugar, spices, flour, and salt) for the filling and stir vigorously. Spoon the apple-quince mixture into a lightly greased 9x9 pan.
In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, oats, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, and baking powder. If you are using molasses or toasted pecans, stir them in now. Pour the melted butter into this bowl and use your hands to mix. Do not overmix the streusel to avoid overworking the flour; instead, use a light but thorough touch. Sprinkle this topping over the filling.
Bake the crumble for 90 minutes or until it is bubbly and a deep, golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool to room temperature before serving.
Recipe: Salted Caramel Ice Cream
(adapted from Melissa Clark)
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 4-5 hours (cooling, chilling, & freezing)
Serving Size: 1.5 pints
Ingredients:
1 ¼ C granulated sugar
2 C heavy cream
1 C whole milk
¼ tsp fine sea salt
5 egg yolks at room temperature
¼ tsp flaky sea salt
Instructions:
In a medium pot over medium heat, melt ¾ C granulated sugar with 3 tbsp water. Do not stir; this may cause the caramel to re-crystallize and brown unevenly. Instead, swirl the pot frequently by the handle. The granulated sugar will take a long time to dissolve, but will then brown very rapidly, so be sure to keep a close eye on the caramel.
While you wait for the caramel, measure out the heavy cream, milk, remaining ½ C granulated sugar, and sea salt, and stir together.
When the caramel turns mahogany-colored, dump the cream mixture into the caramel. Be careful – the caramel will bubble and splatter. Whisk briefly to homogenize before simmering until the caramel cream mixture is completely smooth.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk five egg yolks together. Using a ladle, slowly drizzle about a cup of the caramel cream mixture into the egg yolks while whisking vigorously. You want to avoid curdling the eggs (see note). After you have emptied the ladle, repeat the process with another ladle of the mixture. Continue until all of the caramel mixture is used.
Transfer this new mixture back into the pot and put on medium-low heat. Slowly stir as the custard thickens. The custard is ready when bubbles begin to rise to the surface and slowly burst (around 170F on an instant thermometer). Another way to check whether the custard is done: dip a spoon in the custard and run your finger down the back of the spoon, drawing a line in the custard along the back of the spoon. If the line holds, then the custard is done.
Take the pot off the heat and strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve. Cool mixture to room temperature, cover, and chill overnight.
The next day, churn your mixture in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. Sprinkle the flaky sea salt into the base during the last two minutes of churning.
*Note: When you make the custard base for the ice cream, the proteins in the milk and egg denature and bond together when heated. If overheated, too many bonds form and the proteins clump, curdling your mixture. To avoid this, you can take several measures:
First, ensure your eggs are at room temperature
Second, control the heat being applied to your mixture by never raising the stove-top burner above medium heat
Third, double check that the temperature never surpasses 185F
