Pear and almond tart

I bring a recipe that combines the sweet flavor of pears with the characteristic touch of almonds . A combination that matches perfectly, in a cake that offers a beautiful presentation and few complications.

It is a cake with a shortcrust pastry exterior (which you can avoid making if you buy it refrigerated) and with a filling of Genoa bread , a sweet dough with an intense almond flavor. All decorated with pears and almonds.

The pears I have used are pears in syrup, but you can use fresh pears without any fear. As it is such a sweet fruit in itself, it allows you not to have to add a lot of sugar to the recipe.

To make it I used the detachable square mold from De Buyer. I have always found the square low cakes to be so cute! But you can make this same cake in the shape you want -you can make it in a round mold, or you can make it rectangular, they also have a presentation of ten (if this were the case, I would recommend a removable mold too, they are very comfortable, and if it is perforated, the cooking of the dough will be done very quickly).

De Buyer square springform pan

Ingredients

For the Genoa bread:

• 350 g of almond paste 33%
• 180 g of whole eggs
• 80g butter

• 250 g of wheat flour
• 190g butter
• 16g powdered sugar
• 10 g egg yolks
• 2 g of fine salt
• 50 g of whole milk

*You can skip this step if you use a refrigerated shortcrust pastry.

• 4 pears (they can be pears in syrup if you prefer)
• laminated almonds

Preparation

1. To make the shortcrust pastry*, mix the flour, sugar, salt and butter (it is very important that the butter is very cold, and that you handle it as little as possible). Add the egg yolk, mix and finish by adding the milk. Spread the dough obtained between two sheets of baking paper and keep it in the refrigerator until use.
2. Next we prepare the Genoa bread. In a food processor , introduce the almond paste and crumble it into small pieces. Add and mix the eggs, until you get a very smooth paste. Add the melted butter, mix again and set aside.
3. Take the shortcrust pastry out of the fridge and adapt it in the De Buyer square springform tin .
4. Place the Genoa bread that you have prepared previously on top of the shortcrust pastry.
5. Peel the pears and cut them into pieces of similar size, and distribute them in the dough (as in the photo).
6. To finish, distribute the laminated almonds over the spaces that have been left in the cake.
7. Bake for 25 minutes at 190°C and ready to serve.

GRADES

How to make almond paste? If you are interested or if you cannot find almond paste in your usual establishment, you can make it yourself in a moment: put 375 gr of almonds in a food processor and grind them until you get almond flour. Then introduce 375 g of icing sugar, 1 egg white and, if you have it, 1 tablespoon of almond extract. Blend everything in the same processor until you get a paste. Take it out, put it in plastic wrap, shaping it into a curl, and store it in the fridge until you are ready to use it (it will keep in perfect condition for a few days).