Follow the recipe as for the Membrillo.
Preheat your oven to 50℃.
Line a large baking sheet(s) with baking paper.
Pour the blitzed quince on to the paper and spread it out, about 3mm thick and as evenly as you can.
Place in the oven to dry for 7 – 8 hours. The fruit will remain slightly sticky when it is ready.
Once out of the oven, cool completely before rolling and slicing.
Store the quince wrapped in baking paper in a dry, well ventilated area.
6 egg whites
62ml + 62ml caster sugar
500ml cream
250ml chopped mixed nuts
125g mixed dried fruit
125g red and green glacé cherries
Line a baking tin with a 1 litre capacity (or a Tupperware container) with plastic wrap or baking paper.
Add the egg whites to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk until it forms soft peaks.
Add a teaspoonful of the 62ml caster sugar while whisking. Wait for the sugar to be incorporated (about 30 seconds) before adding the next teaspoonful. Keep going until all of the sugar has been incorporated. Set aside.
Pour the cream into another mixing bowl and add the other 62ml caster sugar all at once.
Beat the cream until it forms stiff peaks.
Spoon about a third of the cream mixture into the egg white mixture and fold through with a large metal spoon.
Add the rest of the cream and fold it in until incorporated.
Sprinkle the chopped nuts, dried fruit and half of the cherries over and fold it in to the mixture.
Arrange the other half of the cherries on the bottom of your prepared container.
Spoon the mixture into the container and lightly level it out.
Place the cassata in the freezer until frozen.
Serve in slices with or without a sauce.
To store leftover, cover the cassata with plastic wrap and place back in the freezer as you would with ice cream.
If you like chocolate and you like prunes, this flourless cake is what you have been waiting for!
400g prunes
200ml Port or Madeira
30g granulated sugar
For the prunes:
Add the prunes, port and sugar to a small saucepan and place on medium heat.
Stir to dissolve the sugar and then allow the mixture to simmer on a medium to low heat until the liquid is reduced to a syrup.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside to cool.
340g dark chocolate, chopped
170g butter, cubed
80g sugar
200g cooled prunes (from the mixture you have made above)
6 eggs, separated
1,2ml salt
Preheat your oven to 170℃.
Grease a 22cm loose-bottom cake tin and dust the bottom and sides with cocoa powder.
Add the chopped chocolate and butter to a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Allow to melt, stirring occasionally until completely melted and smooth.
Add half the sugar (40g) to the chocolate mixture and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the bowl from the saucepan.
Now take 200g of the prunes from the port syrup, drain and chop into small pieces and add these to the chocolate mixture.
Allow the mixture to cool for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate and stir to combine.
Add the egg whites and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Whisk the whites until they form soft peaks.
Now start adding the remaining half of the sugar, a teaspoon at a time, with the machine running.
The whites should hold their shape and be glossy.
Spoon a third of the whites into the chocolate mixture and stir it through to slacken the chocolate.
Fold the rest of the whites into the mixture with a metal spoon, until there are no white streaks left.
Gently pour the batter into the prepared cake tine and bake for 45 minutes.
Cool the cake in the baking tin.
Serve with the remaining prunes in the syrup.
My Whisk and I 