Pasta Frola: Argentine Quince Paste Tart

Method

1. To start this pasta frola recipe, prepare a 22 cm (9 in) tart pan. You don't need to grease it with butter or oil, because the dough has so much butter that it won't stick to the pan.

2. To make the dough, we start by creaming: beat the butter with the sugar until it turns into a "cream". Next, add the egg and the vanilla extract and mix everything together well. Finally, sift the flour and baking powder together and add them to the dough, mixing until combined, but don't knead it too much. When the dough is ready, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least one hour.

3. After the chilling time, take the dough out of the fridge and start forming the base. Break the dough into pieces and, with the help of a rolling pin, shape it into a disc. Remember not to handle the dough too much with your hands, because that transfers heat to it and makes it very hard to work with. Once you have the disc, roll it out into a circle. When it reaches the size you want, wrap the dough around the rolling pin and carefully unroll it over the tart pan. Fit the dough into the pan and, with the back edge of a knife, trim off the excess. Now that the base is ready, put it back in the fridge.

4. To prepare the filling, cut the quince paste into small pieces and heat it in a saucepan. The goal is a spreadable paste, so warm the quince paste with a little water until you get the texture you want. There shouldn't be any whole chunks left, just a jam-like texture. Let it cool until lukewarm. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

5. When the quince paste is lukewarm, spread it over the base of the tart.

6. With the remaining dough, form strips and lay them over the tart in a lattice pattern. When the tart is ready, bake it for 40 minutes.

7. When you take it out of the oven, wait until it cools completely before cutting it.

8. Enjoy!