Step 1

Preheat the oven to 200°C. For the spiced quinces, place 2 cups (500ml) room temperature water, sugar, spices, bay leaves and vanilla bean in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, peel the quinces, then cut into quarters, leaving the core intact. Place the quinces in a non-reactive deep roasting dish or large casserole dish. Pour the syrup over the quinces and cover closely with baking paper. Cover tightly with foil or a lid. Bake for 30 minutes, then lower the oven to 120°C and cook for a further 3 hours 30 minutes or until tender. Carefully peel back the cover and check the colour. I like the classic deep-red rose colour. If you’d like them darker, cook for longer, checking at 30-minute intervals. Cool and gently stir in the red wine vinegar. Keep the quinces in the syrup until ready to use.

Step 2

Meanwhile, for the polenta crust, place the flour, polenta, sugar and 1/4 tsp fine sea salt in a large bowl. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the dry ingredients just until the butter lumps are the size of small peas and the flour has taken on a yellowy hue. When tossing through your fingers, it should feel like silky ground almonds with a little polenta grit interspersed with buttery lumps.

Step 3

Lightly combine the egg yolks, cream, vanilla and lemon zest in a small bowl, then add to the flour mixture. Keep mixing with your hands, lightly squeezing the dough together. The mix will look crumbly at first and then will come together like stiff playdough. Divide the dough into 2 pieces; two-thirds and one-third (approx. 400g and 230g). The larger portion is for the pie crust and the smaller portion is for the top.

Step 4

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and press it out a little with the palm of your hand to ease it into the start of rolling. This helps to prevent large cracks. Give the dough 1 or 2 short pressured rolls with a rolling pin before lifting and moving the dough 90 degrees, making the rolls longer as the dough circle widens. Dust underneath the dough at regular intervals to prevent sticking. Roll out the dough to a 35cm circle, about 4-5mm thick. Trim, then gently lift and place the dough into a 24cm x 3.5cm deep, loose base fluted tart pan. Add the offcuts to the smaller dough portion, wrap in plastic wrap and chill until needed.

Step 5

Working in sections, tuck the dough right into the edge and against the side of the tart pan to prevent air pockets, then roll off the excess with a rolling pin. Freeze for at least 1 hour before blind baking.

Step 6

Preheat oven to 180°C. Blind bake for 25 minutes or until the crust is just cooked – not too brown (the pie will be filled and rebaked, so a slightly soft and undercooked internal crust is okay here). Cool for at least 15 minutes before filling.

Step 7

For the filling, drain the ricotta in a colander lined with paper towel for about 30 minutes. Place the ricotta and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed for about 10 minutes until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the side of the bowl at least twice to ensure ultimate silkiness. Scrape the cheese mix out into a wide bowl and clean the stand mixer bowl.

Step 8

Place the eggs and the egg white from the egg wash, the sugar and vanilla in the stand mixer bowl and whisk for about 5 minutes on high speed until pale and fluffy. Using a stiff plastic spatula, fold the egg foam into the cheese mix in 2 batches, then fold in the mascarpone. Set aside.

Step 9

Remove the remaining portion of dough for the top from fridge to soften for rolling. Cut the seeds and core from the quinces and drain on paper towel. Slice quinces lengthwise into small wedges and drain on paper towel.

Step 10

Spoon filling into the base of your cooled tart shell. This should only come up one-third of the sides. Layer the drained quince slices on top, then spoon in enough filling to evenly smooth over the quinces and level with the top of the sides of your tart shell. Discard remaining filling.

Step 11

Roll out the remaining dough to a 26cm circle for the top. Carefully brush a light coating of egg yolk on the crust edge and a little on the border of the filling, to encourage the top pastry to adhere. Place the pastry top over the filling. To do this, shimmy a spare tart pan base or a thin flat board under the pastry and slide the pastry into position on the filling. Do this carefully, as the egg wash will adhere it to the top immediately. Push the top pastry down to meet the cooked pastry on the side and pinch the excess off with your fingers. Use a fork to poke some steam- release vents in a pretty pattern over the pastry top.

Step 12

Bake in a 150°C oven for 50-55 minutes until the top is pale and has puffed up a little, and a few cracks have formed. It will settle back when it cools. Turn the oven off, open the door and leave the pie in the oven to cool for 30 minutes. This will lessen the deflating dip in the cooling pie.

Step 13

Refrigerate for at least 8 hours before serving. I love it served completely cold, dusted with the combined icing sugar and cinnamon.