Poached Quinces

Step 1: Preheat fan-forced oven to 170C.

Step 2: Once you have peeled the quinces, cut them in half, remove cores and cut them into quarters. Place in a pot of water with a squeeze of lemon and set aside, to help stop oxidising.

Step 3: To pot roast the quinces, place the water, Verjuice and sugar into a heavy based medium sized pot. Place this over high heat, bring to a boil and boil for ten minutes till a syrup begins to form. Place quartered quinces into syrup with the lid on into the oven.

Step 4: Cook for two hours and forty-five minutes. Give the quinces a very light toss halfway through the cooking time, making sure not to break up the wedges.

Step 5: Take the lid off and return to the oven. Check the quinces every thirty minutes to make sure that the liquid has not all evaporated. If the water starts to evaporate and the quince is looking like it will catch on the bottom, add some water.

Step 6: Once the quinces are cooked they should be a beautiful ruby red colour and there will be virtually no syrup left in the base of the pot. Remove the quinces from the pot and place them onto a plate or tray to set aside and cool.

Brown Sugar Meringues

Step 7: Preheat oven to 140C

Step 8: Line two baking sheets with baking paper.

Step 9: Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form and add the caster sugar a spoonful at a time until completely incorporated and the mixture does not feel grainy when rubbed between your fingers. 

Step 10: Add the brown sugar in three batches until also incorporated. Stir in the Verjuice, cornflour and salt.

Step 11: Spoon one tablespoon of mixture onto a tray to make each meringue. Using the back of a spoon, make a hollow in each one to add the poached quinces later.

Step 12: Bake in the oven for twenty minutes or until firm to touch. Leave in the oven to cool.

Step 13: To serve, fill each meringue with a small amount of mascarpone and top with the poached quinces. Grate over some dark chocolate and garnish with mint leaves.