Roasted Quince Crumb Cake and a Video

quince crumb cake | apt 2b baking co

video by Pete Lockhart

roasted quince crumb cake | apt 2b baking co
roasted quince crumb cake | apt 2b baking co
quince crumb cake | apt 2b baking co
roasted quince crumb cake | apt 2b baking co
quince crumb cake | apt 2b baking co
quince crumb cake | apt 2b baking co

I'm so excited to share a new video with you today, along with the recipe for this amazing and very easy crumb cake! It's the kind of recipe I know I will make over and over again, switching out the fruit and maybe adding some warm spices, depending on the season. I saw this cake, which is by the legendary Fergus Henderson, pop-up on the Herriot Grace blog last month and immediately thought to make it with quince. I used the roasted quinces from The Violet Bakery Cookbook, which is one of my very favorite books from this fall's releases. This recipe makes for the most vibrantly hued quince I've ever cooked. They were practically neon!

The cake itself has a very dense crumb and a generous amount of sandy, crumbly topping which is nicely offset by lots of fruit. It would be the perfect thing to serve at a holiday brunch and you could definitely bake it a day ahead of time. 

Quince Crumb Cake

adapted from Fergus Henderson via Herriot Grace

This cake was originally made with sliced rhubarb, but you could substitute an equal quantity of just about any fruit. Nikole made this cake with gorgeous pluots, but I imagine that plums would also be lovely or apples, pears, or even sweetened fresh cranberries. Use your imagination! The original recipe calls for macerating the fruit with a bit of sugar and citrus zest, for this version I just added a bit of the syrup leftover in the quince pan after roasting to mimic the juices that would have accumulated after roasting the fruit.

Cake

one pound roasted quince, cut into 1-inch pieces (recipe follows)

3 tablespoons quince syrup (from the roasting pan)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

scant 2/3 cup sugar or caster sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/3 cups self rising flour

pinch salt

scant 1/4 cup whole milk

Crumble

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup ground almonds

pinch salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Preheat oven to 375ºF and line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Butter and flour the parchment.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Slowly stream in the eggs and beat until well combined. Fold in the flour and salt, followed by the milk.

To make the crumble, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the butter and mash the mixture together with your fingertips until well combined and like wet sand.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, top with the quince and their syrup. Spread the crumble over the top evenly.

Bake the cake until golden and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 60-75 minutes. If the crumble gets too dark before the cake cooks, tent the pan with foil.

Serve warm with creme fraiche, whipped cream or ice cream.

Roasted Quince

from Claire Ptak's Violet Bakery Cookbook

This recipe makes beautiful rosy quince that are quite tart, due to the generous amount of lemon juice. When cooked this way the quince hold their shape quite well making them perfect for all sorts of uses. This book was written with gram measurements in mind so they are listed below, as in the original recipe. 

4 or 5 quince

300g ( 1 1/2 cups) sugar

100g (7 tablespoons) water

200g (3/4 cup) fresh lemon juice

zest of 2 lemons

2 or 3 bay leaves

1 vanilla bean

Preheat oven to 355ºF/180ºC.

Peel and core the quince and cut them into wedges by cutting them in half from top to tail and then cutting each half into thirds. Spread the wedges in a single layer in a large, heavy-bottomed gratin or roasting dish. Sprinkle with the sugar and cover with the water and lemon juice. Add the zest, bay leaves, and vanilla bean. Cover tightly with foil and roast for 23-35 minutes or until deep pinky orange and tender to the touch.

Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 1 month. 

quince crumb cake | apt 2b baking co

Classic Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

carrot cake with cream cheese frosting | apt 2b baking co
carrot cake with cream cheese frosting | apt 2b baking co
carrot cake with cream cheese frosting | apt 2b baking co
carrot cake with cream cheese frosting | apt 2b baking co

I rarely make birthday cakes anymore, but when duty calls I am happy to break out my offset spatulas and get the job done. I might even enjoy it a little bit :) So, a few weeks ago, when a friend asked me to make a cake for his special lady's birthday we did a little secret scheming to make this carrot cake happen. Like a lot of "old-fashioned" foods (I'm looking at you prunes), carrot cake gets a very unfair bad rap - because it is totally delicious. If we are being honest though, what isn't totally delicious slathered in cream cheese frosting? A perfect carrot cake has lightly spiced, fluffy layers that are super moist and not too sweet, and a generous amount of tangy cream cheese frosting over the top. This cake even feels a little virtuous, considering it has an entire pound of carrots folded into the batter. I like the crunch of a handful of walnuts too, but I avoid raisins as they are a pretty polarizing ingredient (in carrot cake or otherwise).

and yes, the cake does say "Hannah Slays" on top...a little more fun than "Happy Birthday" don't you think?

Classic Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

cake adapted from Cook's Illustrated

For the cake pictured, I doubled the recipe below and made a 4 layer 10-inch cake which is enough cake to well, feed an army. A single recipe will make a 2 layer 9-inch cake with nice, thick layers or fill a 9 x 13-inch pan if layer cakes aren't your thing. You could also double the cake recipe and make a very tall 4 layer 9 or 10-inch cake. You'll want to double the frosting recipe too. When you are making the frosting, make sure that the cream cheese and butter are at room temperature which will ensure that the frosting beats up nice and smooth. This cake is also great because the layers can be made a day or two in advance and stored in the fridge before you decorate them. Any longer than that and I'd wrap them in two layers of plastic wrap and a layer of foil and store them in the freezer.

Classic Carrot Cake

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon cardamom

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

pinch cloves

1 teaspoon salt

1 lb. peeled carrots, about 6 

1 1/2 cups canola or grape seed oil

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar 

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 

4 large eggs

3/4 cup chopped, toasted walnuts (optional)

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

8 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons creme fraiche 

1 lb confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

pinch salt

To make the Cake

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF. Butter 2, 9-inch cake pans and line them with parchment paper. Butter the paper, then flour the pans and paper.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt together in large bowl; set aside. Use a food processor or box grater to shred the carrots.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment beat the sugars and oil together until well combined. Add the eggs and mix on medium-high until thoroughly combined and emulsified. Fold in the flour mixture, shredded carrots, and walnuts (if using) until well combined and no streaks of flour remain.

Pour the batter into prepared pans and bake until toothpick or skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes for 9-inch round pans and 40 minutes for a 9 x 13-inch pan. Let the cakes cool in their pans for about 10 minutes then invert them onto a rack to cool completely.

When the cakes are cooled completely, make the frosting.

To make the Frosting

Beat the butter and cream cheese together on high speed until fluffy and smooth add the creme fraiche. Turn the mixer to low and gradually add the confectioner's sugar until just combined, then turn the mixer up to medium-high and beat until fluffy and smooth, making sure to stop the mixer and scrape down to the bottom of the bowl so everything is evenly mixed. Add the lemon zest, vanilla extract, and salt.

To Assemble the Cake

Trim the tops of the cake layers so they are flat, if necessary. Place one layer on a serving plate or pedestal and spread about 3/4 cup of frosting on top. Top with the second cake layer, then smooth a thin coat of frosting on the outside of the cake. Chill for at least 30 minutes, then cover the cake with a second, heavier coat of frosting to finish.

This cake will keep in the fridge for about 4 days. 

carrot cake with cream cheese frosting | apt 2b baking co