Italian Pear Almond Cake Food

ITALIAN PEAR ALMOND CAKE

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 375° F.
• Grease an 8-inch springform pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a large bowl with an electric mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and white sugar together at medium speed until pale in colour and fluffy.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the bowl between eggs (be sure to get all the way to the bottom of the bowl, where unincorporated butter can hide.. With the mixer on low, mix in the all purpose flour, ground almonds and baking powder. Spoon the batter into the prepared springform pan and use a spatula to even out the mixture. (Batter will be thick and fill the pan only to about an inch thick).
• Prepare pears, by peeling, then cutting in half from the stem end to the bottom. Use a small spoon to remove the core and also scrape away the thick spine that runs up to the stem end. Set aside.
• Arrange the pear halves in a circle on the top, cut side down and with the thin end towards the centre of the cake. Sprinkle flaked almonds over-top. Bake in pre-heated 375° oven for about 35 minutes, or until the cake tests clean when a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake.
• Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin, then run a knife around the outside and carefully remove the ring and base. Dust with icing/confectioners' sugar before serving.

ALMOND AND PEAR CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter a small tart pan or a 9-inch cake pan.
• Mix pear slices and amaretto liqueur together in a bowl.
• Process almonds and 2 tablespoons sugar together in a food processor until the mixture is a fine almond meal.
• Beat 1/4 cup sugar and butter together in a bowl using an electric mixer until light and fluffy; add eggs and vanilla extract and beat until well combined. Mix almond meal mixture, flour, and salt into creamed butter mixture to make a smooth batter.
• Drain pears, reserving the amaretto liqueur. Stir drained liqueur into batter just until incorporated.
• Pour batter into the prepared pan, smoothing batter if uneven. Arrange pear slices in a decorative pattern atop batter.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cake is starting to pull away from the edges, about 25 minutes. Allow cake to cool in pan for at least 15 minutes before serving.

ALMOND AND PEAR CAKE

Steps:

• Grease a 30cm flan tin or a pie plate that you can directly slice and serve from. Preheat oven to 18OC.
• Using electric beaters, beat butter, sugar and lemon zest until creamy and pale in colour.
• Continu beating and add the eggs, one at a time.
• Fold in the flour, baking powder and almond meal. Fold in the xanthan or guar gum at this point if you are using gluten-free flour that does not already contain a gum.
• Spoon half of this mixture into the flan tin. Spread to cover. Reserve the remaining half of the mixture. Arrange the pear slices over the base. Spread the pears out evenly. They usually need to be slightly overlapped. Sprinkle the cinnamon over the pears.
• Spread the remaining cake batter over the top of the pear layer and then scatter over the flaked almonds.
• Bake in the pre-heated oven for around 30 minutes or until tested as cooked with a skewer.
• Allow the cooked cake to stand for at least 10 minutes prior to serving. Serve warm with fresh cream, warm custard or ice-cream.

OLD-FASHIONED ALMOND PEAR CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the pears, ginger and lemon juice; set aside., In another bowl, beat the eggs, confectioners' sugar, butter and extract until blended. Combine flour and baking powder; gradually beat into egg mixture until blended. Stir in pear mixture., Transfer to a greased 9-in. springform pan; sprinkle with almonds. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before cutting. Serve warm.