Quince & Canela Tart

To make the tart crust:

Mix dry ingredients together and set aside.

In stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until smooth.

Add in egg, egg yolk, orange zest, and vanilla extract, mix well.

Add in dry ingredients, mix well.

Form dough into a flat disc and refrigerate overnight.

To make the canela custard:

Heat milk and vanilla over medium heat until you see steam.

Meanwhile, whisk together egg yolks until smooth.

Add in sugar, cornstarch, and salt and whisk until smooth. Set aside.

Once milk is steaming, add in cheese and blend with hand mixer until smooth. Alternatively, add heated milk and cheese into a blender, blend until smooth and add back into the pot on medium heat.

Using a measuring cup, pour a bit of the hot milk mixture into the eggs, a little at a time, to temper the eggs. Once eggs are tempered (feel the bowl, if it’s warm and the mixture is smooth they are tempered) slowly whisk into the hot milk on the stove.

Once added in, continue to whisk until mixture thickens.

Once it’s thickened, immediately remove from the heat and whisk another minute.

Pour mixture into a bowl or container and immediately cover with plastic. Make sure to cover the entire surface of the custard with plastic, pushing out any air bubbles.

Let cool to room temperature and chill overnight.

To make the quince paste:

Mix all ingredients together in a pot and cook over medium heat.

Stir frequently until sugar is dissolved and ingredients begin to bubble.

Simmer over medium heat until the mixture has turned bright red in color (about 1 hour).

Take a spoonful and test it, it should be thick and should wrinkle when pushed with your finger.

When ready blend with a hand mixer or blender until smooth.

Pour into a greased 9x13 baking pan.

Let cool to room temperature and cover with plastic wrap.

Refrigerate overnight.

Assemble and bake your tart:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Roll dough on a floured surface to 1/8” thickness.

Cut out circles of enough dough to cover the bottom of your tart pan and go up the sides about an 1 ½ inches.

Place dough in greased tart pan(s) and weigh down the bottom. (Place beans in a muffin paper or on top or parchments paper).

Blind bake 10-15 minutes or until edges are just golden. Let cool to room temp, remove from pan.

While tart shells are cooling, check the quince paste to make sure it’s firm enough to cut.

Use a circular cookie cutter to cut out circles that match the size of the bottom of your tart pans.

Take out Canela custard and place in piping bag with large round tip.

When shells are cool, place quince paste on the bottom.

Then pipe the custard on top of the quince paste until that tart shells are almost full (leave ¼ - ½ inch of the crust).

Garnish with fresh ground cherries (husks peeled back carefully and washed) that are dipped in caramel sauce.