Medlar and Honey Fool is a modern South African recipe for classic dessert of whipped cream flavoured with quince pulp and madeira wine blended with Greek yoghurt and sweetened with citrus syrup that's finished with a nut topping. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic South African version of: Roast Quince Fool with Madeira.
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To me, quince is the epitome of later summer. Here in KZN (Kwa-Zulu Natal) they are a welcome, but short-lived addition to Spar’s list of fruit. I always grab a few when I see them. In this case they are roasted to soften and then transformed into a classic fruit fool. I top with roasted nuts (traditionally hazelnuts, but otherwise pecans or walnuts) for some added crunch. Nibbed almonds will also work at a pinch.
Ingredients:
large quince, peeled and sliced
100g sugar
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out
1 orange, zested
½ lemon, juiced
300ml (1 ¼ cups) madeira
350ml (1 ½ cups) double (heavy) cream
150ml (2/3 cup) Greek yoghurt
handful of toasted hazelnuts
Method:
Arrange the quince in a greased roasting tin or casserole and scatter over the sugar and vanilla seeds, throwing the pod in too. Scatter over the orange zest then pour over lemon juice, the madeira and 100ml water. Cover the roasting tin with foil then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180ºC (160ºC fan/320ºF, gas mark 4) and roast for 25-30 mins until the quince are pink and very tender.
Set aside to cool, then remove the vanilla pod and blitz half the quince into a purée and finely chop the other half. Pour the roasting juice in the pan into a saucepan, bring to a simmer and reduce to a syrup. Stir the purée and the finely-chopped quince. Whip the cream to soft peaks and fold through the Greek yogurt before stirring in a little of the syrup. Layer the cream in glasses, alternating with the quince mix.
Chop a few hazelnuts (or other nuts) to sprinkle on top as a garnish, then serve.
