quince crisp

As soon as the temperature starts to drop, it's only natural that you and I start to crave certain things. More soups, more roasted vegetables, more blankets, more nights in watching movies, more baked fruits, more fireplaces, more crisp.

It's no secret, I love a good crisp.

Crisp is the prefect dessert for a crisp fall day. Maybe that is where is got it's name? No? Okay ... I know ... it's from the crispy top that pairs so nicely with the soft fragrant fruits hiding underneath.

I'm fairly new to cooking with quince. If you are unfamiliar with this fruit, it is best described as a cross between a pear and an apple, therefore (in my opinion) making it ideal to bake with.

Pears and apples are two of my favorite fall fruits, and now quince will obviously be making it's way to that list as well.

The thing to note about quince is that is has particularly tough flesh which means it is not so good to eat raw, and it needs to bake on it's own for some extra time before being incorporated into a crisp, or pie, or any baked dessert for that matter.

The upside to having to bake the quince longer? You will have that delicious smell of quince baking in your home for for that much longer, creating the perfect ambiance for a fall day.

quince crisp

This delightful crisp is gluten-free, and can be made vegan or non-vegan depending on if you would like to use real butter over earth balance butter. In this recipe I used earth balance, however if you want to use real butter it is a one to one ratio. If you are not able to find quince, you can switch it out for pear or apple (or both!) however, note that you will not need to pre-bake the apple or pear prior to adding the crisp on top.

serves
6-8 people for dessert

ingredients

for the filling:

5 quinces, core removed, partially peeled, and chopped
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
½ teaspoon of cinnamon
¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
½ teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of maple syrup
1 tablespoon of earth balance butter

for the topping:

½ cup of gluten-free oat flour
½ cup of glut-free rolled oats (I like to use Bob's Red Mill)
¼ cup of coconut palm sugar (or brown sugar if you prefer)
¼ tsp of cinnamon
¼ tsp of nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup of earth balance, chilled + cubed

directions

start by preparing and baking the filling:

Pre-heat the oven to 375º
In a medium sized baking dish, toss the chopped quince with the lemon juice. Then add the vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and maple syrup and toss again to combine.
Slice the butter into tiny pieces, and spread them out evenly on the top of the quince mixture.
Cook the quince for 45-50 minutes, until it is fork tender.

while the quince is baking, prepare the topping:

In a mixing bowl, combine the oat flour, rolled oats, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix well until everything is combined.
Then, incorporate the butter. It is important that your butter starts off very cold going into this mixture. It will help make sure the crisp is nice and crumbly. Work the butter into the flour / oat mixture using a pastry hand cutter or a fork. Do this until the butter is incorporated, but not over-worked. You still want to see small chunks of the butter, evenly distributed throughout.

When the quince is done pre-baking, remove it from the oven and add the crisp topping.
Place it back in the oven and bake for another 40 minutes, or until the topping is crispy and golden brown.
Remove, and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I'm love this dairy-free brand right now. The crisp will keep for about 4-5 days in the refrigerator.

enjoy.