Quince Fool

Considered an old-fashioned fruit except, perhaps, in Adelaide, quinces need a lot of sugar to counteract their acidity, but have a deep red colour and dusky flavour. The quinces can be cooked a day or two beforehand, and kept refrigerated. Spices are optional, but I added half a dozen cracked cardamon pods.

3-4 quinces

2 cups sugar

200 ml cream

Spices (optional)

Take the quinces, wipe and quarter them. Place the quinces in a preserving pan with 2 cups of sugar (or to taste), spices in a bag if liked, and 3 cups of water. Bring to the boil, skim and simmer for 3 to 4 hours. Rub the quinces through a sieve and refrigerate the puree until needed.

Put the quince puree in the freezer for 15 minutes before serving. Whip cream with 1 tablespoon sugar, gently fold in the puree and serve in custard glasses or a glass dish.

If I made this again, I'd change the quince puree/whipped cream ratio and use four quinces rather than three.