Quince fumble

Winter

A fumble is a cross between a crumble and a fool. Usually fumbles are made up of something fruity (in this case quince), something creamy (I’ve used a mixture of double cream and natural yoghurt) and something crunchy (which could easily be nuts or broken biscuits, but on this occasion I’ve used a baked oat crumble). It’s a pudding really, but could be a breakfast if you have everything to hand that early in the day. The crumble keeps for weeks in an airtight jar, so there’s really no excuse not to eat it at any time.

Serves 3

Ingredients

For the baked quince

2 large quinces, peeled and quartered
100g (3½oz) light brown soft sugar
Juice and pared zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
2 tsp black peppercorns
2 rosemary sprigs, leaves stripped

300ml (10½fl oz) double cream
300ml (10½fl oz) natural yoghurt

For the crumble

100g (3½oz) plain flour
Pinch of fine sea salt
100g (3½oz) unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
75g (2½oz) unrefined caster sugar
75g (2½oz) porridge oats

Method

Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas mark 4.

Make the crumble. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, mixing and rubbing thoroughly together until you have formed clumps and lumps. Line a large baking tray with a piece of baking parchment. Tip out the mixture onto the tray and distribute evenly. Place in the oven for 25–35 minutes, turning the crumble over three or four times during baking, until it is evenly golden. Remove the crumble from the oven and allow to cool.

Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6.

Place the quince quarters into a medium roasting dish, cut sides upwards. They should all sit quite snugly in a single layer. Combine the sugar with 3 tablespoons of water, the lemon juice and zest, crushed coriander seeds, and the black peppercorns and rosemary leaves. Mix all these ingredients together well and spoon the mixture over the quince. Cover the dish with foil, making sure you crimp the edges up really well so no steam can escape. Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour, or until the fruit is lovely and tender. Remove the cores from a quarter of the cooked quince and brush off any loose peppercorns or rosemary leaves. Drop the fruit into a blender along with any sugary baking juices from the pan. Whiz up the quince – you might need a dash of water to help it along – until you have a relatively smooth consistency.

Place the cream and yoghurt in a bowl and whisk until soft and pillowy.

Take half the purée and stir this into the cream-and-yoghurt mixture – it doesn’t have to be thoroughly mixed; you can just ripple it through if you like. Spoon the quince cream into bowls, add some baked fruit and finish with a scattering of crumble.

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