Quince pie is made with a typical Italian shortcrust “pasta frolla”, that is soft, crumbly, buttery, and perfectly sweet. It is filled with quince paste and covered with a lattice of the same dough. It’s delicious, easy to make, and one of my favorites for afternoon tea or a weekend snack.
This pie, which we call “pastafrola”, is super typical in Argentina. Quince paste is one of the most used ingredients in bakeries across the country. You can also make this pie with sweet potato jam or dulce de leche. Both of them are amazing, but nothing beats the good old quince pastafrola, in my opinion. If you’re interested in other recipes with quince paste, you should try my quince paste thumbprint cookies!
How to make Quince Pie?
These are roughly the steps we need to follow to make this recipe:
- Make the dough and separate it into two buns. Cool the big bun
- Roll out the small bun and freeze
- Make the quince paste filling
- Roll out the dough and place it in the pie pan
- Fill with the quince paste filling
- Cut strips with the dough we rolled before and lattice the pie
- Decorate with dough leaves or flowers
- Bake and chill before serving
Why do I need to chill the dough?
We make pastafrola with room-temperature butter. Therefore, it’s soft and delicate when we finish making it. We need to cool it down so that the butter becomes cold again. Once it’s cold and firm, we break the dough with our hands and knead it slightly. This way, when we roll the dough, it will be malleable but cold. This will prevent it from breaking when placing it in the mold.
Baker’s Tips
Try orange-flavored dough
I made this recipe for a lemon and vanilla-scented dough. Quince also goes great with orange zest. For dulce de leche or sweet potato jam versions, use the vanilla-scented dough.
Make the dough ahead of time
You can make pastafrola dough ahead of time. Wrap the dough in plastic and keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months, or in the fridge for a week. If you freeze it, place the dough in the fridge for 8 to 12 hours before using it.
When should I cut the quince pie?
It’s better to cut the quince pie when it’s cold, so we give the jam time to firm up, and it will cut nicely and clean. Ideally, wait for 8 hours after it’s out of the oven. In my opinion, pastafrola is so much better the next day!
Quince pie conservation
Store quince paste pie at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap, or in an airtight container for up to a week.
Quince Pie (Argentine Pastafrola)
Ingredients
- 200 g Unsalted butter room temperature
- 150 g Granulated Sugar
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp Vanilla extract
- 2 Eggs
- 400 g All purpose flour
- 10 g Baking powder
- 400 g Quince paste cut into cubes
- 50 ml water
Instructions
- Mix the butter with the sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extract until it gets light and creamy. Use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a handheld mixer.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Sift the flour with the baking powder and add to the batter. Mix until completely combined.
- Wrap ¾ of the dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes or until firm.
- Roll out the remaining ¼ of the dough between two sheets of parchment paper or between a Silpat and a parchment paper. Roll the dough to ¼ inch thickness. Place it on a tray and take it to the freezer.
- While the dough cools, make the filling. Place the quince with the water in a saucepan and bring it to medium-low heat. Smash with a fork until a paste is formed. If your quince already has a spreadable texture, you may skip this step.
- Once cold, take the large dough, and break it with your hands, knead lightly. Roll with a rolling pin and place on the mold. Press the sides and remove the excess dough.
- Pour the filling over the dough and spread neatly.
- For the dough strips, remove the other dough from the freezer, and peel off the papers or the silicone sheet. Cut 8 strips with a knife and a ruler. Place the strips on the pie in a lattice design.
- Cut little leaves or flowers with the rest of the dough, and place them around the pie, sticking them with a little water or milk.
- Bake the pie in a preheated oven at 340°F (170°C) for 35 minutes, until the edges and strips are golden brown. Let cool for at least two hours before unmolding and serving.
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