Pastafrola or Quince Tart from Uruguay

Pastafrola or pasta frola is a tart from Uruguay, which is similar to Linzer Torte. It is based on a pie crust, which is then filled with quince paste. A simple tart on the one hand, yet also unusual as it uses quinces for the filling. I often wonder why there are so few recipes out there with quince? At least here in Germany it is really hard to find. Quince is a very common fruit in Uruguay. Dulce de membrillo or quince paste is basically dense jam, which comes in squares and can be cut in pieces. However, in Germany you may find quince jam, but even that is super hard to find. So for that reason you will either need to buy quince paste on Amazon or you will need to make quince paste yourself. Funnily enough, quinces are sold in grocery stores in Germany, so you may have a chance.

According to legend, pasta frola may have two sources it came from. Either the Austrian immigrants who came to Uruguay attempted to make their Linzer Torte, or it may be based on the Italian crostata, which is also a pie crust that is filled with jam. Be it as it may, the main difference between the Austrian/Italian version and the Uruguayan one is the filling. As stated, quinces are a staple in the Uruguayan cuisine, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that you may fill the pie crust with it as well. I will never forget when I came to Germany as a child and was very surprised that jam could not be cut into pieces, I was used to dulce de membrillo.

Print Recipe

Pasta Frola or Quince Paste Tarte from Uruguay

Serves: One pie/tart

Prep Time: 45min – Cooking Time: 45min – Total Time: 1 hr 30min

Pasta frola or quince paste tarte from Uruguay is made from a simple pie crust and filled with quince paste. Perfect for shipping as it keeps a while.

Ingredients

• Pie Crust, tips for dealing with pie crust can be found here
• 300 grams of all-purpose flour
• 80 grams of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• Zest of one lemon
• 200 grams of cold butter
• 1 egg
• 
  
• Filling
• 400 grams of quince paste, homemade or bought
• Up to 100 grams of water
• One egg for egg wash and coarse sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

1

For the pie crust mix flour, sugar, vanilla extract, and zest of lemon into a large bowl. Then add the cold butter in small pieces. Work into crumbs the size of peas. Add the egg and knead briefly into a ball. If the dough is still too crumbly, add a splash of water. Wrapp tightly and chill for at least half an hour or overnight.

2

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius then divide the dough into 1/3 and 2/3. Roll out the 2/3 first on a lightly floured surface into a circle larger than your baking form. Transfer to the form and cut off any overhang.

3

Heat the quince paste/dulce de membrillo, if you use store-bought, you will need to add water so that the paste becomes spreadable. Wait for it to cool off a bit before spreading on the prepared crust.

4

Using the leftovers of the 2/3 and 1/3 of dough, roll out again into a large circle. How you can make the nice lattice pattern, I show in this Instagram reel. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle coarse sugar on top. Bake for about 35-40min on the lower rack or until crust is golden.

5

The quince tart keeps if chilled properly and can easily be shipped as a gift or surprise.