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Quince and Apple Pie and a Pastry Lesson

October 1, 2011 By All That I'm Eating 15 Comments

Pastry has to be, without doubt, the best cradle, blanket or hat for any rich, sumptuous bed of fruit, meat or vegetables. It is that crunch, that warmth and that way it crumbles which makes it just so. I thought of pastry as my nemesis. Stupid stuff that was invariably delicious when prepared by anyone but myself. All this was to change when I met Jane. 

farmers' market pastries

Jane makes an awful lot of pastry. She is Jane of Jane’s Kitchen and prepares a marvellous amount of amazing pastry each week for different farmers’ markets around the area. There are trout and caper parcels, Moroccan mountains, seasonal fruit tarts and some classic pies. Best of all Jane uses as many ingredients as possible from the farmers’ market. 
A few weeks ago I asked Jane if she would be kind enough to share some of her pastry knowledge with a complete and utter pastry dunce – me. She was more than happy to share her wisdom and I can now pass on this wisdom to anyone else who counts themselves as a pastry novice. 

farmers' market pies

The most important thing I learnt was not to be afraid of the pastry. It’s hard to believe anyone can be intimidated by some butter, flour and water but when you’re thinking, “Don’t overwork it!” and, “Don’t let it get warm”, you can find yourself all of a fluster. You need to be brave and show it who’s boss. This is extremely useful information when coupled with the second most important thing I learnt; don’t faff around too long.
Using a food blender has two advantages; it’s quicker and it keeps everything colder. Get yourself a pastry recipe. You may have previously sworn at the recipe, cast it off as useless and decreed that there’s something wrong with the proportions but actually it might have been the method that needed tweaking. Put the flour and butter into the processor and blend until it looks like you have breadcrumbs. Two important things to note here; the butter must be as cold as possible and it takes a surprisingly short length of time for it to get to the breadcrumb stage. Once you have breadcrumbs turn the blender off. Get your liquid ready, again as cold as possible, turn the blender back on and add the liquid slowly. Stand back and watch as a ball of pastry starts whizzing round your blender. Turn off as soon as it comes together.

farmers' market trout pie

Now, this is where the no faffing around is most important. Get the pastry and roll it out with poise, dignity and most importantly brute force. If you roll it out like you have the arms of a Greek god then it will be at your required thickness in no time. This means it is staying as cold as possible and it’s not being overworked. You can now do with your pastry what you will. If you think the pastry is not quite cold enough, refrigerate before rolling it out. One more thing to note is that sometimes after it has been refrigerated it can be too cold to roll out. This can mean your pastry rips and tears when you try. Leave it out of the fridge for a few minutes to warm up just a tad.

Quince

With all this knowledge and a bag full of pastry I set to work on my quince and apple pie. I love quince and it is having somewhat of a comeback. I planted a quince tree last year which sadly has not yet fruited but I’m hopeful for next year. They are one of our most ancient and delectable fruits. A quince has a slight fur on the skin and smells indescribably good, almost tropical. It looks a little like a pear but is firmer and much rarer.

Quince halved

When dealing with a quince it is essential that you have an inexhaustible supply of lemons, I know of nothing else that goes brown as quick as a quince. Lemon juice up your peeler, your knife and squeeze some into a bowl of water.

Peel, core and chop your quince as fast as your dexterity allows. Plop them into your bowl of acidulated water and do the same with your apple. I used two large quinces and one apple for this pie.

Divide your (sweet) pastry into two pieces one slightly bigger than the other. Roll out the larger bit to line your pie dish. Put the quince and apple pieces into the dish and sprinkle over some sugar. It is hard to say how much you need as it depends on the tartness of your fruits. I put in one large handful.

Roll out your second bit of pastry and place on top of the pie. Crimp the edges together with a fork or other chosen utensil. Brush the top and edges of the pie with a little beaten egg. I don’t trim the edges of the pastry off until it comes out of the oven as it shrinks when it cooks.

Put into a preheated oven for 5 minutes at 200C then turn it down to 180C for another 35 minutes or until it is a beautiful golden brown.

Quince and Apple Pie with ice cream

This is a lovely autumnal pudding. Crisp, sweet pastry with a thoroughly British interior. I was surprised that the quince came out of the oven slightly orange in colour and not brown. Although my recent pastry lesson doesn’t bode well for the waistline it does mean I can look forward to a few months of proper, soul warming food.

Other posts you might like

  • quince and apple crumble
    Quince and Apple Crumble - adventures with the quince
  • baked damson and apple crumble
    Damson and Apple Crumble
  • Pear and Damson Lattice Pie - finished
    Pear and Damson Lattice Pie

Filed Under: Apple, Autumn, Baking, Butter, Dairy & Eggs, Fruit, October, Pastry, Pie, Quince, Recipes By Month, Seasons Tagged With: Baking, pastry, pie, recipe

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Comments

  1. the food dude says

    October 1, 2011 at 13:02

    The pie looks great! Really curious about Quince. Great post!

    Reply
  2. Karen S Booth says

    October 1, 2011 at 13:33

    LOVELY! I made a Quince and Pear pie a few weeks ago and LOVED the addition of quinces in the pie…….quinces always go an orange/pink colour on cooking, pure alchemy!
    Karen @ Lavender and Lovage

    Reply
  3. The Mom Chef says

    October 1, 2011 at 14:21

    Oh my gosh. Those pictures of the pies made me about crazy. I wanted to jump up and head to the kitchen to make a dozen!

    Faff? That’s a new one on me. But, from the sound of it, I can pretty much guess what it means. 🙂

    I’ll be looking for quince to give this pie a go. Many thanks for sharing your version.

    Reply
  4. Nava.K says

    October 1, 2011 at 15:18

    what a wonderful pie, looks so delish and I can’t stop admiring the pics.

    Reply
  5. Simply Life says

    October 2, 2011 at 20:58

    mmm….I would LOVE one of those right now! drool.

    Reply
  6. Kimberly (Unrivaledkitch) says

    October 2, 2011 at 22:38

    lovely! the photos are just awesome. I haven’t had much quince but now i know i need to get my hands on some. thanks for sharing

    Reply
  7. Jill@MadAboutMacarons says

    October 3, 2011 at 07:52

    Wonderful – have to show it who’s boss! Trout parcels look fabulous and your addition of quince to the apple sounds a real treat – especially with that pastry.

    Reply
  8. Beth (Jam and Clotted Cream) says

    October 3, 2011 at 09:25

    Do you know what – I’ve never used Quince. Great pics

    Reply
  9. Lizzy says

    October 3, 2011 at 22:24

    Pastry is my nemesis, too…but I’m doing a bit better. Great tips and lovely pie~

    Reply
  10. Belinda @zomppa says

    October 4, 2011 at 03:41

    This is stunning! I need to take some lessons from you!!

    Hey…I have tried a couple times and may be missing something, but wanting to get a RSS feed of your posts – any advice on how to do that would be great!

    Reply
  11. b.wak says

    October 4, 2011 at 16:49

    I’m dreaming of quince now….
    Beautiful captures

    Reply
  12. Catherine says

    October 6, 2011 at 09:49

    Soul warming indeed! That last picture, to me, is the epitome of autumn 🙂

    I’m a pastry phobic, so I will take heed of your instructions. I laughed at “Get the pastry and roll it out with poise, dignity and most importantly brute force.” Well done 🙂

    Reply
  13. Lilly says

    October 9, 2011 at 14:43

    I had so much fun reading your post. Seems like pasty has to fear you now! My neighbor has a quince tree and you are right, the fruit smells so good. Just too bad you have to process it and can’t eat it just off the tree.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Valentine's Day Pudding - Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Tart with Rhubarb and Blood Orange Compote - All That I'm Eating says:
    February 8, 2016 at 11:08

    […] if you use a food blender for the pastry. If pastry is your nemesis, it used to be mine, I have a previous post that will make you feel much more relaxed about constructing this […]

    Reply
  2. English Heritage Cherry Tart - All That I'm Eating says:
    September 23, 2016 at 12:00

    […] together. Chill the pastry in the fridge for half an hour. If you find pastry intimidating, see my pastry guide for do’s and […]

    Reply

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Hello I’m Caroline

Welcome to my site All That I’m Eating. You will find inventive recipes using seasonal and foraged ingredients as well as everyday easy meals and a few indulgent recipes too.

I believe humble food doesn’t have to be hum drum so whether you’ve oodles of onions, superfluous sausages or apples aplenty I hope you enjoy having a look around.

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