Mock Apricot Flan with Oatmeal Pastry

I often get home from work and want to cook something, but having not planned it in advance I find that I haven't got the right ingredients and that's totally a good reason to lose it, throw a tantrum, go to bed early and cry myself to sleep. (the very opposite of keeping calm and carrying on, get it?)
This recipe is from a nostalgia cookbook compiled by Marguerite Patten, who worked for the Ministry of Food during World War II and came up with clever ideas for using up what little food there was. I'm very into this idea, and even more into the idea of giving people something to eat and then shouting 'Surprise! That's not what you think it is! Man, I can't believe you guys fell for it'
In the true spirit of the war, I'm making do with what I have, so instead of apricot jam I'm using my dad's quince jelly, vanilla instead of almond essence, and I'm throwing a few apples and cherries in there with the carrots for the filling.
Result: Well it ain't gonna win no beauty parade, that's for sure, but amazingly it really does taste like apricots! The 'crust' is not the best, it's pretty dry and flaky, but if it was on top, instead of the bottom, it would be a pretty nice fruit crumble.
But, to be honest, vegetables disguised as fruit is nothing new. There's another recipe in here of how to make lemon curd out of marrow (the worst vegetable in the world) instead of eggs. What I really want to learn is how to make roast beef out of a plum.