Quince Cranberry and Persimmon Crisp

Quince Cranberry and Persimmon Crisp.

I have three new recipes this week for you all for a week of Christmas recipes. First up is this simple Quince, Cranberry and Persimmon Crisp.

Out of all the seasons, Winter is my least fave only because I don't like being cold. I also don't like shoveling snow to get to work at 3 am when I am called into the hospital. But that is in the past. Snow is pretty to look at, to go snowshoeing and snowboarding in. But not to shove. 

Living in Vegas has turned me into a desert tortoise. It does get pretty chilly here in winter. I do love a few things about winter.  I LOVE Christmastime and winter fruits. Especially persimmons.

And each winter I am always trying to find new ways to make recipes with them, whether it's a cocktail, a savory dish or a dessert. Persimmons are so versatile, Fuyu being my favorite, and I even turned my husband into a persimmon fan.

 I have to hide some for recipes since he now eats them like apples like I did as a kid.  I knew I wanted to make a persimmon crisp, but I wanted to do more than just persimmons for this recipe. Enter another underrated winter fruit, the quince. 

What is quince?

Quince is yellow fruit that is a bit like an apple and a pear but much firmer, and it is often made into jams or jellies. It's a late fall to winter fruit that can be stored up to a few months at room temperature so they last through winter.

They are best poached first then baked when used in a crisp since they take longer to soften up than persimmon or other fruits like apples or pears do. Their pale interior turns pink when baking! They are pretty hard raw so most recipes with quince call for them to be either poached or baked. 

I knew the quince  would be a great addition to the persimmon crisp. Making it a quince and persimmon crisp. But it still needed one more item. Cranberries.

I used frozen cranberries in this crisp. I always have a couple bags of cranberries in my freezer, usually saved for when clients ask me to make Christmas recipes in July and fresh cranberries are still over 4 months away in stores. They are a great tart addition to this crisp, making it a quince, cranberry and persimmon crisp. You can use either fresh or frozen. 

I also went with spices in the fruit mixture as well as the topping. I wanted there to be a nice hint of spice that complemented the fruit well. Cardamom goes really well with quince and persimmon, crisps can't be without cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg add that nice wintery spice to the crisp.

This smells amazing when baking. I also added in a little maple syrup to the filling and topping to help take the edge off the tartness of the cranberries. The flavors in this crisp are really well balanced.

I bake the persimmon crisp with foil on for most of the baking. I don't like the topping too crispy,  but if you like  a crunchier topping, bake with the foil off the whole time.

I got this GORGEOUS pan from Le Creuset a few weeks back and I  knew when I wanted to make this crisp I had to use my new pan. Its Carribbean color - my favorite and I was so enamored with the color, I forgot to add in Christmassy props or other items to this post. I was going with super minimal to show off my new pan. Its a fantastic cast iron baker, perfect for crisps.

Ice cream on a crisp - yes or no?

The ice cream might make the crispy topping a little soggy, but that sweet creamy ice cream mixed with the crunchy topping and tart fruits makes for many delicious mouthfuls of this dessert. I am definitely on team ice cream with crisps.

A week of fun winter recipes starting with this Quince Cranberry and Persimmon crisp, and two more fun recipes to come.

One which is great for Christmas breakfast and the other a fun holiday cocktail. But first this crisp!

More persimmon recipes you might like:

Dark Chocolate Chunk Persimmon Scones with Olive Oil

Pear Persimmon Salad with Maple Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Persimmon Galette

Persimmon Negroni Sorbet Cocktail

Quince Cranberry and Persimmon Crisp

Shanna

Quince, Cranberry and Persimmon Crisp

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Additional Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Servings 8 -10 servings

Ingredients

  

• 2 pounds quince peeled, cored, chopped
• 2 pounds Fuyu Persimmon peeled, chopped
• 1 pound cranberries fresh or frozen ( If frozen, do not thaw)

Poaching Liquid:

• 3 cups water 750 ml
• ½ cup sugar 100 grams
• ½ cup maple syrup 125 ml

For the filling:

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon cardamom
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Topping:

• 1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ cup butter cold cut into cubes (113 grams)
• 2 tablsespoons maple syrup

Instructions

 

• Lightly grease a 2 quart baking pan, or 9x13 pan. Preheat oven to 350 Deg F.
• In a medium saucepan combine the quince and poaching liquid ingredients. Bring to a boil then simmer until the quince are pierced with a fork, but still firm, about 8-10 min.
• Drain and place the quince to a large mixing bowl. Add in the persimmon and cranberries.
• Pour the lemon juice and maple syrup over the fruit and stir, then the spices for the filling and stir well. Pour into prepared pan making sure its in an even layer.
• In a separate bowl combine the oats, flour, sugar, salt and spices for the topping. Mix well. Add in the butter and maple syrup and mix with hands, fork or pastry blender until the entire mixture is moist and holds shape if you squeeze it together.
• Evenly distribute the topping over the fruit. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 min. Remove the foil and bake another 10 min or until bubbly and the topping is starting to turn golden.
• Remove from oven and let sit 10 min. Serve hot with vanilla ice cream.