Hello Friday

It's a gorgeous day here in Melbourne, far too nice to be stuck inside sewing. But before I head outside to potter around in the garden, I quickly finished off the Quince Jelly I started on Wednesday. It turned out beautifully! It's not quite as red as I would like, but its a fine line between developing the colour, and over-cooking it. Last time I made beautifully red quince jelly it needed to be microwaved every time you wanted to spread some on toast.

Miss Lola is settling in well, and Millie seems to be opening up more to her. They enjoy a game of rough and tumble around the lounge room at night. Millie looks so vicious, but her tail is wagging madly and she never actually hurts Lola.

I did catch Lola stealing clothes from my bedroom last night though...I'm not sure what she planned to do with them!

Quince Jelly

One of many autumn pleasures is the smell of quinces simmering slowly on the stove. I'm very lucky to have a quince tree in my back yard, and while they take a few hours to cook, they are worth the effort.

With only a few quinces left on the tree, it seems as good a time as any to make a batch of quince jelly, something I haven't done for a few years. Don't get me wrong, this is a decent time investment, but the results are stunning.

I'm using a recipe from over here, but there are plenty to be found on the Internet. The best thing I can recommend is a proper 'jelly bag' made of wool to give you a clear jelly, but a tea towel or muslin can do the job.

I use the pot rack over my kitchen bench to drain the fruit (with the tub stacked on some old uni books); I just have to keep Bella distracted for a few hours. Once drained enough I'm putting the juice in the fridge and will make the jelly on Friday.

Quince and Almond Cake

If summer is all about peaches and raspberries, then autumn must surely be about quinces. Last year my tree gave us one lonely fruit, but this year a bounty has been slowly growing.

My usual kitchen activity is quince jelly and poached quinces, but I thought I'd do something a little different today. Quince and Almond Cake!

• 100g softened unsalted butter


• 1/2 cup castor sugar


• 2 eggs


• 1/3 cup plain flour


• 1 tsp baking powder1 cup almond meal


• 1 cup poached quinces, plus more slices for the top of the cakefew tablespoons of liquid from the poached quinces, or jam, for glazing

• Heat oven to 170°C. Line a springform baking tin or a tin with a removable base.


• Cream butter and sugar together until pale and creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time.


• Sift together the flour and baking powder, and stir in the almond meal.


• Slice the cup of quinces into thinnish slices (about 3 or 4 mm thick) and then fold into cake mixture.


• Pour batter into prepared tin and smooth the surface a little. Slice remaining quinces to an equal thickness and arrange (patterned or as you please) on the top of the batter.


• Bake for 40 minutes or until it can be cleanly skewered (in my case it was 45 min). Let cool for a few minutes before removing the outside of the tin.


• Warm the quince liquid or jam in a small saucepan and brush over the top of the cake to glaze. (I used a bit of quince jelly)

Absolutely divine served warm with a big dollop of greek yoghurt.