Pear And Dried Cherry Frangipane Cake Food

PEAR AND DRIED CHERRY FRANGIPANE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 8-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 1/2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Line pan bottom with parchment paper; spray parchment. Using electric mixer, beat 2 eggs, 2/3 cup sugar, oil, milk, and vanilla in large bowl until smooth. Add 1 1/2 cups flour; beat just until combined. Stir in pears and cherries. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Smooth top.
• Crumble almond paste into medium bowl; add cinnamon, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 tablespoon flour. Using electric mixer, beat mixture just until blended. Spoon atop cake batter. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out with small moist crumbs attached, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Run knife around pan to loosen cake. Remove pan sides. Peel off paper. Transfer cake to plate; sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Cover; let stand at room temperature.)

DRIED CHERRY-ALMOND FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• For cake:
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter and flour 10-inch-diameter nonstick angel food cake pan. Line bottom with parchment paper. Toss first 4 ingredients with 1/2 cup flour in large bowl to coat.
• Whisk remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars in another large bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, blending well after each addition. Beat in rum, maple syrup, and vanilla. Add flour mixture and beat until just combined. Stir in dried fruit mixture. Spoon batter into prepared pan, flattening to eliminate air pockets. Bake until tester inserted near center of cake comes out clean and cake is deep golden brown, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes.
• For syrup:
• Whisk rum and maple syrup in bowl. Spoon half over warm cake in pan. Let stand until absorbed. Cut around cake to loosen; invert onto platter. Peel off paper. Spoon remaining syrup over cake. Let stand about 4 hours. (Can be made ahead. Cover and store at room temperature 1 day or chill up to 1 week.)

CHERRY FRANGIPANE TART

Steps:

• Make the tart dough: Combine flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Work in butter thoroughly. Stir in egg yolk mixture and knead briefly until dough is smooth, then form into a flat disk.
• Roll dough to a large circle and lay it in a 10-inch/23-centimeter fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press in well (patch any cracks with extra dough). Refrigerate or freeze for 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Blind bake tart shell until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. (You do not need to cover the shell or use pie weights.)
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Put almonds, flour and sugar in work bowl of food processor and grind to a rough powder. Add butter and pulse until well incorporated. Add eggs and almond extract and process until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. (Alternatively, use ground almonds and make batter with a mixer instead.)
• Pour almond batter into prebaked shell and smooth with a spatula. Press cherries into batter in a single layer. Sprinkle with a handful of sliced almonds. Lower oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake until golden, 30 to 40 minutes. (An inserted skewer should come out clean.) Cool on a rack and remove outer rim of tart pan. Place tart on a serving dish and dust with confectioners' sugar.