Vegan Poached Quince Frangipane Tart
A vegan quince frangipane tart with a crisp, sweet shortcrust case, vanilla-almond frangipane set with flax instead of egg, and fanned slices of quince poached in star anise and cinnamon syrup. The poaching syrup is reduced with the scraped vanilla pod to make the glaze.
Equipment
- Digital scales For accurate measurements.
- Fluted Tart tin with removable base 23 cm (9 inches) For baking the tart pastry.
- Ceramic baking balls To prevent the pastry from rising during baking.
- Large saucepan or pot For poaching the quince and making the glaze.
- Peeler
- Pastry brush For applying the glaze.
- Coring tool To neatly core the quince.
- Hand whisk or Electric whisk For making the frangipane.
Ingredients
Tart base
- 250 g Plain flour
- 125 g Unsalted butter Vegan, chilled
- 80 g Icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon Milk Plantbased
Poached Quince
- 500 g Quince
- 100 g Sugar
- 750 ml Water
- ½ Lemon
- 2 Star anise
- Stick of Cinnamon 2-inch stick
Frangipane
- 90 g Ground Almond
- 2 teaspoon Flax seed powder
- 4 teaspoon Water
- 60 g Butter softened to room temperature
- 100 g Sugar
- 2 tablespoon Cornflour
- 2 teaspoon Almond extract
- 1 Vanilla pod
Instructions
Tart
- Cut the cold butter into small cubes.
- In a bowl, add the flour, icing sugar, and cold, cubed butter. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mix resembles breadcrumbs. Add a dash of milk and bring the mix together into a dough. Don't knead it; just bring it together until combined. Avoid overworking the dough, as this develops the gluten.
- Transfer the dough to a work surface, flatten it into a disc, wrap it in parchment paper, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- After resting, remove the dough from the fridge and set it aside for 5 minutes.
- Lightly flour the work surface and roll the dough into a disc larger than the tart tin. The disc must be larger than the tart tin's diameter. Measure the diameter of the tin base, add the tin depth, and add approx. 2.5 cm (1 inch) to that. The disc should be no thicker than 3mm.
- Carefully line your tart tin with pastry, gently pressing it to match the tin's shape. Try not to stretch the pastry, and patch any cracks that might appear. Trim the overhanging pastry with a knife.
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC (fan-assisted)
- Prick the pastry base with a fork to prevent it from rising. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
- Line your pastry case with baking parchment and fill with ceramic baking beans, uncooked rice or dried beans.
- Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven, take out the parchment and beans, and bake for a further 5 minutes.
- Once done, remove from the oven, and leave to cool in the tin.
Poached Quince
- In a saucepan, add the water, sugar, star anise and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer once the sugar dissolves.
- Fill a bowl with cold water and squeeze half a lemon into it.
- Wash and peel the quince, then cut one in half lengthways. Remove the core and the stem end. As you prepare each half, soak it in the lemon water to prevent browning. See the video guide for instructions.
- Add the quince to the pan, core side up, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, cover with a cartouche and set aside to cool.
- Once cooled, remove the quince from the poaching liquor and cut each half lengthways into thin slices about 3 mm thick. Gently press down to fan out the slices. Repeat with the remaining quince and set aside.
Frangipane
- In a bowl, add the ground flaxseed, the add lukewarm water and mix to combine. Set aside to thicken into a gel.
- Place the vanilla pod on the chopping board and hold one end down. Using the tip of a sharp paring knife, make a shallow cut down the centre of the pod from end to end, stopping before you cut all the way through. Use your fingers to open the pod, then turn the knife so the blunt side faces down. Holding the top of the pod, drag the back of the knife firmly along the inside of each half to scrape out the seeds. Set aside the pod and keep it for later.
- In a bowl, mix the ground almonds, sugar, cornflour, almond extract, softened butter, and vanilla seeds. Add the flax gel and mix into a smooth paste.
Assembly
- Set the oven to 180ºC (fan-assisted).
- Spread the frangipane evenly into the pastry case and smooth the top.
- Arrange the sliced poached quince on top. See the video guide.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. If your oven doesn't heat evenly, turn the tart every 15 minutes (to reduce heat loss) for an even colour. The tart is done when it is deep golden, the quince has darkened, and the edges are golden brown.
- While the tart bakes, strain the poaching liquor through a sieve to remove the cinnamon and star anise, then pour it into a saucepan with the scraped vanilla pod. Reduce over a medium heat until thick, then use it to glaze the tart while the tart is still warm, so the glaze sets evenly.
- Serve warm, on its own, with ice cream, or with cream poured over.
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