Name: Ginger twist with quince and spiced custard
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 390 min
Total time: 435 min
Yield: 6 - 8
Ingredients: 140 ml lukewarm milk; 7 gm dried yeast (1 sachet); 450 gm plain flour (3 cups); 120 gm raw caster sugar; 2 tsp ground ginger; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; Finely grated rind and juice of 1 orange; 2 eggs, at room temperature, plus 1 extra, lightly beaten, for eggwash; 100 gm softened butter; For dusting: icing sugar; Ginger-poached quince; 750 gm raw caster sugar; 250 ml Stone's Original Green Ginger Wine; 50 gm ginger, thickly sliced; Thinly peeled rind and juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon; 2 each cinnamon quills and star anise; 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped; 4 quince, cored and quartered, cores and peel reserved; Hazelnut filling; 230 gm roasted hazelnuts; 200 gm softened butter; 110 gm brown sugar; 140 gm raw caster sugar; 130 gm plain flour; Finely grated rind of 1 orange; Spiced custard; 400 ml pouring cream; 100 ml milk; 2 cinnamon quills; 1 star anise

Ginger twist with quince and spiced custard

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for ginger twist with quince and spiced custard.

Serves 6 - 8

Prep

45M

Cook

6H 30M

Total

7H 15M

This loaf is a combination of a babka and crumble made merrier with a spiced custard. For a faster fruit option, replace quince with spiced poached pear.

Ingredients

140 ml lukewarm milk

7 gm dried yeast (1 sachet)

450 gm plain flour (3 cups)

120 gm raw caster sugar

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Finely grated rind and juice of 1 orange

2 eggs, at room temperature, plus 1 extra, lightly beaten, for eggwash

100 gm softened butter

For dusting: icing sugar

Ginger-poached quince

750 gm raw caster sugar

250 ml Stone's Original Green Ginger Wine

50 gm ginger, thickly sliced

Thinly peeled rind and juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon

2 each cinnamon quills and star anise

1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

4 quince, cored and quartered, cores and peel reserved

Hazelnut filling

230 gm roasted hazelnuts

200 gm softened butter

110 gm brown sugar

140 gm raw caster sugar

130 gm plain flour

Finely grated rind of 1 orange

Spiced custard

400 ml pouring cream

100 ml milk

2 cinnamon quills

1 star anise

1 tsp each ground ginger and cinnamon

1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

5 egg yolks

100 gm raw caster sugar

Method

1.For ginger-poached quince, preheat oven to 150C. Stir ingredients, except quince, and 600ml water in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, then remove from heat. Add quince and place a round of baking paper directly on top. Place reserved quince peel and cores on paper and push down to submerge. Cover with foil or a lid and cook in oven until quince are rosy coloured and tender (4-5 hours). Discard peel, cores and baking paper, and set aside. Quince will keep refrigerated for 3 weeks.

2.Preheat oven to 180C. Stir milk and yeast in a small bowl to dissolve and stand until foamy (5 minutes). Meanwhile, combine dry ingredients and rind with a pinch of salt in an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add yeast mixture, eggs and orange juice, then mix on medium speed to form a soft dough. Gradually add butter, kneading to form a soft dough, then transfer to a buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap and stand in a warm place until doubled in size (45 minutes to 1 hour).

3.For hazelnut filling, coarsely chop hazelnuts in a food processor and set aside 30gm. Add 180gm butter, brown sugar, 110gm caster sugar, 100gm flour and rind. Process until smooth and set aside. Rub together remaining butter, sugar, hazelnuts and flour in a bowl to form a crumble.

4.Knock back dough on a well-floured surface, roll out to a 30cm x 60cm rectangle and spread evenly with hazelnut filling. Roll from the longest side to form a cylinder, then cut in half. Twist each half around one another to form a rope and place in a buttered 11.5cm x 25cm loaf tin. Stand until slightly risen (30 minutes). Brush with eggwash, scatter with reserved crumble and bake until golden and risen (45 minutes to 1 hour). Cover with foil if loaf gets too dark.

5.For spiced custard, bring cream, milk and spices to a simmer over low heat, set aside to infuse (30 minutes), then bring back to a simmer. Whisk yolks and sugar in a bowl until pale, then pour in warm cream mixture and whisk to combine. Return to pan and stir continuously over medium heat until mixture thickly coats the back of a spoon (4-5 minutes), then transfer to a bowl.

6.Dust ginger twist with icing sugar, slice thickly and serve with warm spiced custard and quince.

Hot tip Spices are almost always improved by being toasted gently in a dry pan before use.
Drink Suggestion: Sweet mead. Drink suggestion by Max Allen
Notes