This upside-down cake is delicious for afternoon tea or dessert. It has perfect texture, not too moist, with distinct flavour of pistachios and chewy quince slices on the top.
The recipe is adapted from Cafe Cakes by The Australian Women's Weekly.
Ingredients:
90 g softened butter
2 tsp orange peel (or grated orange rind)
220 g caster sugar
3 eggs
75 g self-raising flour
150 g plain flour
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
125 ml sour cream
60 ml orange juice
75 g unsalted pistachio kernels
For the poached quinces:
3 medium quinces (approx. 1 kg)
110 g caster sugar
125 ml orange juice
250 ml water
2-4 cardamom pods
Method:
Finely chop or process the pistachio kernels, until they resemble coarse meal.
To poach the quinces, peel, core and slice them.
Combine sugar, juice, the water and crushed cardamom in medium saucepan, stir over heat, withour boiling, until sugar is dissolved.
Add quince, simmer, uncovered for about 1 1/4 hours or until quince is soft and liquid is almost absorbed.
Cool, remove the cardamom pods.
Grease deep 23 cm-round cake pan, cover base with baking paper.
Arrange two-thirds of the quince over the base of the pan, sprinkle with any poaching liquid remained.
Blend or process the remaining quince until smooth.
To make the cake, beat butter, rind and sugar in a bowl with electric mixer until combined.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, until combined (mixture will curdle).
Stir in sifted flours and soda, with cream and juice, in two batches.
Fold in nuts.
Gently fold in the quince puree into the batter to give a rippled effect.
Spread the cake batter over quince in cake pan.
Bake in a preheated oven (180 C, fan 160 C) about 1 1/4 hours, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Stand cake in pan for 15 minutes before turning onto wire rack, then transfer onto a plate.
Cake can be served hot or at room temperature, with cream, custard or ice-cream, if desired.
Bon Appetit!
