Quince and Chestnut Crumble Cake

Ingredients:

For the Quince:
2 large quince (700g), peeled, quartered and cored
1l water
440g of caster sugar
140ml of sweet Marsala wine
2 cinnamon sticks, halved
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways

For the Crumble topping:
25g of plain flour
35g of soft brown muscovado sugar
40g of walnuts, chopped
35g of unsalted butter, chopped

For the cake:
185g of self-raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp baking powder
100g of ground almonds
250g of unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease the tin
220g of soft brown muscovado sugar
220g of chestnut purée, unsweetened
3 large eggs
60ml of whole milk

Method:

To prepare the quince, combine the water, caster sugar, Marsala, cinnamon sticks and vanilla pod in a medium-sized pan over a low heat. Stir continually until all the sugar has dissolved. Add the quince quarters to the syrup and cover with a cartouche with a small hole cut in the middle to allow steam to escape (a cartouche is a round of parchment paper cut to fit snugly in the pan). Simmer for 2 hours or until the fruit is a deep red in colour and tender. The syrup should be nicely reduced and thick.

Remove the fruit with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl to cool, reserving the syrup. When cool, cut the quince quarters in half.

At this point, pre-heat your oven to 180°C (355°F/gas mark 4). Grease and line a 24cm springform cake tin with baking paper

Prepare the crumble topping by combining the flour, sugar, walnuts and cubed butter in a bowl. Rub the butter into the mixture until it forms coarse crumbs then set aside.

Sift together the flour, mixed spice and baking powder into a bowl and add the almonds. Stir to combine then set aside.

Combine the butter and sugar in an electric mixer bowl and beat until the mix is pale and fluffy. Add the chestnut purée and beat until just smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until just combined. Gently fold in the flour mixture and milk until just combined.

Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin and spread until level. Arrange 12 quince slices in a circular pattern on top, then 4 slices in the centre. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the top.

Transfer to the centre of your pre-heated oven and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to stand in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Serve warm or cool, drizzled with the reserved syrup. The cake is best eaten on the day it's prepared.