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.)

PEAR-AND-FRANGIPANE PASTRIES

Steps:

• Dough: In a small bowl, sprinkle yeast over milk; stir until dissolved. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in vanilla seeds. In a mixer fitted with the dough-hook attachment, beat together 4 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt, and 4 tablespoons butter on low speed until mixture resembles coarse meal, 3 to 4 minutes. Add yeast mixture; beat until dough just comes together. Add eggs and yolk; beat until just combined, 2 to 3 minutes (do not overmix). Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently knead to form a smooth ball, about 30 seconds. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Switch mixer to the paddle attachment and beat together remaining 3 sticks and 4 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons flour. Shape mixture into a 10-by-12-inch rectangle on a sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap and refrigerate at least 15 minutes and up to 1 day. (Before proceeding, let butter mixture stand at room temperature until it has same consistency as dough.)
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 10-by-18-inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick, keeping corners square. (Remove any excess flour from dough with a dry pastry brush.) With a short side facing you, place butter mixture over bottom two-thirds of dough. Fold unbuttered third down over butter, then bottom third up over that (as you would fold a business letter; this seals in the butter). Roll out dough again to a 10-by-18-inch rectangle, then fold into thirds as described above; wrap and refrigerate 1 hour. (This completes the first of three turns.) Repeat rolling and folding process two more times, refrigerating at least 1 hour between turns. Wrap tightly in plastic; refrigerate at least 4 hours and up to overnight. (Dough can also be frozen, tightly wrapped in plastic, up to 2 weeks; thaw in refrigerator overnight before using.)
• Pears: In a large saucepan, bring wine, lemon zest and juice, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla seeds, and 2 cups water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; add pears and cover with a parchment round to keep submerged. Cook, occasionally turning pears by gently rotating stems with your fingertips, until tender when pierced with a paring knife, about 20 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer pears to a heatproof bowl. Return poaching liquid to a boil and continue cooking until syrupy and reduced by half, 10 to 12 minutes. Pour syrup over pears and refrigerate, covered, at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.
• Frangipane: In mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a mini food processor, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add 1 egg, almonds, rum, almond extract, and flour; beat until smooth.
• Using a slotted spoon, remove pears from poaching liquid and pat dry with paper towels. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 12-by-20-inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. Using a 3 1/2-inch round cutter, cut out 16 rounds and divide between 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Fill each pear half with about 2 teaspoons frangipane and place, cut-side down, in centers of rounds. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. In a small bowl, lightly beat remaining egg. Brush rounds of dough with egg wash, avoiding pears. Bake, rotating halfway through, until pastries are evenly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

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.

CHERRY FRANGIPANE TART

Steps:

• To make the pastry, process the flour (or flour and semolina, which gives it extra crunch) and butter, then add the sugar, followed by the beaten egg and just enough water (about 2 tbsp) to form a dough. Shape into a disc, wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 20 mins.
• Meanwhile, to make the filling, place the sugar, ground almonds, butter, egg and egg yolk in a bowl and mix to make a creamy paste. Stir in the kirsch or Armagnac. Chill for at least 20 mins.
• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Roll the pastry out onto a floured surface and use to line a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin. Fill with lightly greased foil and baking beans and bake for 20-25 mins, removing foil after 15 mins, until golden. Spread the almond paste onto the base of the pastry and bake for 25 mins until golden and crisp. When the tart comes out of the oven, arrange the cherries on top in a single layer. Heat the cherry conserve with 1 tbsp water until smooth, then brush over the cherries. Leave to cool before removing from the tin. Cut into wedges to serve, adding a spoonful of crème fraîche if you like.

FRANGIPANE (ALMOND) TART WITH FRUIT (FIG, APPLE, CHERRY, PEAR, B

Steps:

• Whisk egg yolk and cream in small bowl.
• Mix flour, sugar and salt in a mixer with paddle.
• Add 1 cup butter and mix on low until coarse meal forms.
• Add egg mix and blend just until moist clumps form.
• Gather into a ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour.
• Butter tart pan.
• Roll out dough to 13" round on a lightly floured surface and transfer to pan. Press onto bottom and up the sides of the pan. Trim excess dough.
• Chill 30 minutes.
• Bring half and half to a simmer in a small saucepan. Whisk 1st quantity of sugar, 1/3 of eggs and flour in a small bowl.
• Gradually whisk in half and half.
• Return to saucepan. Whisk constantly over medium heat until mixture thickens and boils, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer to a small bowl.
• Stir in vanilla.
• Set over a bowl of ice water and stir pastry cream until cold. Remove from ice bath and set aside.
• Grind almonds with half of 2nd quantity of sugar in a food processor being careful NOT to take it to a paste.
• Using electric mixer, beat butter and remaining sugar until smooth.
• Add remaining eggs 1 at a time, beating well between additions.
• Gradually beat in almond mixture.
• Add 1/2 cup pastry cream (reserve remaining for another use).
• Cover and chill until firm, about 4 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375.
• Spread filling over crust. Arrange fruit (if fig cut side up)in concentric circles over filling.
• Place tart on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake until filling center is golden and set -- about 1 hour 15 minutes.
• Let cool completely in pan on wire rack.