Scheiterhaufen with Quince and Meringue Topping
- Sweet
- Dessert
At the Stocker inn in Kirchschlag, Lower Austria, wild herbs, wild berries and tree fruits from the Bucklige Welt region add a special touch to the menu.
Preparation
- Preparation time: 100 min
- 6 Servings
Quince
Rub and wash the quince, remove the cores and cut into thin slices. Caramelise the cane sugar in a pan, then deglaze with white wine and water. Add the quince and season to taste with cinnamon, the vanilla pod seeds and lemon juice. Simmer gently until soft but still holding some bite.
Scheiterhaufen
Cut the kipferl or brioche or short pastry into small slices and melt the butter. In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the melted butter, milk and cane sugar or honey. Moisten the pieces of kipferl with this mixture and layer them alternately with the quince in a baking dish. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (top and bottom heat) for about 40 minutes.
What is a Scheiterhaufen?
Scheiterhaufen is a traditional Austrian dessert, somewhere between a bread pudding and a baked sweet casserole. Its name literally means "pyre" or "stack of wood", a nod to the way slices of bread or brioche are layered in the dish before baking. The classic version uses apples, though other fruits like quince or pears are common too, and the whole thing is often finished with a golden meringue topping. It's a homely, comforting dish with roots in Austrian farmhouse cooking, where day-old bread was put to good use rather than wasted.
For the meringue topping
For the meringue topping, whisk the egg whites with the sugar until stiff. Spread over the Scheiterhaufen and bake at 180°C (top heat) for about 10 minutes until golden brown.