Spiced Quince & Pear Brownies
On a rainy, cold winter’s day I’m drawn into the kitchen to bake. Brownies have to be my favourite bake ever, and this is a variation on my usual - with a touch of spice, quince, pear, ginger and toasted almonds. They will make any chilly afternoon feel better! I’ve poached the pears and quince, but if you want something simpler and quicker, then add whatever you want to the basic brownie mixture - perhaps a cup of frozen raspberries and 150g chopped white chocolate, or a cup of salted peanuts and a 180g bar of ‘Caramello’ chocolate pieces embedded in the mixture.
Ingredients:
Brownie mixture:
200g dark chocolate (I find the best results are with Nestle’s ‘Old Gold’ 45% cocoa)
200g butter
1 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup cocoa
3 eggs
Poached Pear & Quince:
1 pear
1 quince
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup water
1 star anise
2 slices root ginger
1 small cinnamon stick
Add:
1 tbsp crystallised ginger
1/2 cup toasted flaked almonds
To make poached pears and quince: peel and core fruit and cut into quarters. Put maple syrup, sugar and water in pan over medium heat to dissolve sugar. Turn down heat to simmer. Add fruit and spices. Cut out a greaseproof paper circle to fit the pan and place over the fruit. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes. The pear should be tender, but the quince may need a bit longer. (They should be tender when prodded with a fork, but not falling apart). Cool completely.
Preheat oven to 170 degrees C fan forced. Line a 22 x 22cm tin with greaseproof paper.
Melt chocolate and butter in a metal bowl over pan of simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water.
When the chocolate and butter are melted remove bowl from the heat and stir in the sugar to dissolve.
Beat up eggs and add to slightly cooled mixture.
Add flour and cocoa and mix through.
Add chopped pieces of drained poached fruit, almonds and finely chopped ginger. Stir gently to combine.
Cook for 25 minutes. The top will look a bit shiny and a skewer will NOT come out clean. You want them fudgy, not cake-like.