Quince Chai Blondies Recipe

By Hanna Ashton-Lawson

Quince season is finally here, and our carefully-tended quince tree in the community garden is brimming with fruit (thank you Anne and Graham!).

Now, what to do with all those quinces? If you’re after a classic, you can check out last year’s blog post on quince paste. Perfect for making some extra and gifting to a neighbour or friend.

If you would like to spice things up and try something new, here is a recipe for a delicious slice. I combined two recipes: the first from Sophie Thomson to prepare the quinces, and the second from Baking With Butter because I wanted it a little more autumnal in flavour. I reduced the sugar in the Baking With Butter recipe (it calls for a very generous 200g), and they still turned out sweet. I never measure my spices and just sprinkle them liberally and enthusiastically! It does take time to prepare the quinces, but it’s simple to do and well worth the effort. Perfect for a day that you’re pottering around the house.

Ingredients

• 250 grams of slow roasted quinces (instructions below)

• 113g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

• 1 large egg

• 130g (3/4 cup) brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste

• 125g (1 cup) plain flour

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• ¼ teaspoon cardamom

• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger

• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

• ½ teaspoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon of salt

• 170g (1 cup) white chocolate chips.

Method

In a saucepan, cook small to medium pieces of quince in a sugar syrup with honey, lemon juice and water until soft. Roast on a tray in a slow oven at 100 degrees until the quinces are chewy, firm and red, approximately two hours.

Line a square tin with baking paper and preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Melt the butter and place in a large bowl. Allow to cool slightly before adding the egg, brown sugar and vanilla. Beat until well combined and smooth.

Whisk flour, baking powder, spices and salt in a separate bowl, before gradually adding to the wet mixture. Stir for a glossy and thick batter before folding through the chocolate chips and quince.

Spread mix into your baking pan and smooth with a spatula.

Bake for 25-28 minutes, or until a skewer comes out mostly clean (a few moist crumbs is okay!), and this too is dependent on your preference for gooeyness in your blondies/brownies.

Cool pan on a cake rack and then slice your blondies.

This recipe keeps in an airtight container for three days at room temperature, a week in the fridge, or the freezer for three months.