Winter Heartwarmers

From cobbler and clafoutis to oozy chocolate puddings, these divine desserts are just what we need on a chilly night.

QUINCE & RHUBARB COBBLER

PREP + COOK TIME 4 HOURS SERVES 8

4 medium quinces (1.4kg)

2 cups (440g) caster sugar

3 cups (750ml) water

1 long strip lemon rind

6 trimmed stems rhubarb (375g), cut into 5cm lengths

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons sliced natural almonds

1 tablespoon icing sugar

TOPPING

1½ cups (225g) self−raising flour

1“ cup (75g) caster sugar

150g butter, chopped

¼ cup (60ml) buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Peel and core quinces; cut each into 6 or 8 wedges.

2 Stir sugar, the water and rind in a large saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves; bring to a boil. Add quince. Reduce heat to low; simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Uncover; simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1½ hours or until quince is tender and syrup is rosy pink.

3 Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Grease a 2-liter (8−cup) ovenproof dish.

4 Using a slotted spoon, remove quince from syrup; place in dish with rhubarb. Add juice and enough syrup to quince mixture to almost cover fruit.

5 Make topping. Drop tablespoons of topping over the hot fruit; sprinkle with almonds.

6 Bake cobbler for 1 hour or until top is browned. Just before serving, dust with sifted icing sugar.

TOPPING