Quinces aren’t very glamourous. Let’s be honest here. They’re not. They’re yellow and spotty, and you have to cook them for hours and add lots of sugar for them to get anywhere near being good. But, with a little love, they’re pretty delicious.

You know what else isn’t very glamourous? Porridge. Economic, filling, warming, tasty, yes. But glamourous, not so much.

But I love them both anyway.

I’m also loving autumn. I’m not usually so much of an autumn gal, preferring the hot summer days and the long summer nights, myself. But, I don’t know, there’s something about the colours of autumn that are just reeling me in this year. Colours like this, how could you resist?

And so, with my newfound appreciation of all things autumnal, I’ve been getting back into quinces and porridge in a big way (you might have already noticed if you follow me on Instagram). My mum, as she does most years, bought a whole box of the fruit and cooked up two giant crockpots worth – with more still to come! My girl Terri dubbed me the Queen of Quince last week in some office banter, but that is a title more fitting of my mother – though hopefully mine to inherit one day?

Most days I’ve been eating porridge with poached quinces on top, but I had a few extra minutes this morning and decided to mix it up a little. This isn’t so much a recipe as it is assembly instructions, but it just occurred to me that there might not be multiple ice-cream containers of poached quinces at your disposal in your house – so keep an eye out for that recipe, and more quincey goodness soon!

First, cook your porridge in your preferred manner. For me, this means approximately half a cup of oats and three quarters of a cup of milk, stirred together and microwaved for just under two minutes. Because we’ll be cooking this further, make sure your porridge isn’t too dry, even if you’re more of a sticky porridge kinda person. Add a little extra milk, if you need.

While the porridge is cooking, mash up some poached quince – I used about a quarter of a quince for the amount of porridge I made. If you’ve taken this straight from the fridge, it’s a good idea to give this quince puree a quick zap in the microwave, too. Thirty seconds did the trick for me.

Layer the quince in the bottom of an oven-safe ramekin, and the serve of porridge on above it. Top with a teeny bit of butter, and a sprinkling of brown sugar. Pop the whole thing in an oven preheated to about 210 degrees C, and cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until the top is starting to caramelise.

It may not be glamourous, but it is exactly what a crisp autumn morning calls for!