Small Pear And Almond Cakes Recipes

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.

SPICED ALMOND PEAR CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (160°C) with a rack in the center position. Grease and line a 8-inch (2-inch deep) cake pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the unbleached all purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and salt. Set aside.
• Combine the softened butter and granulated sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat over medium high speed for 4 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Add the almond and vanilla extract; beat for an additional 30 seconds. Over low speed, add the flour mixture in two additions, alternating with the milk. Scrape down the bowl once or twice to ensure the ingredients are being incorporated evenly. The batter will be thick. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, add the diced pears, and fold them in gently using a spatula.
• Transfer the batter to the greased cake pan, level and smooth the batter with an offset spatula.
• Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then carefully invert and remove the cake from the pan. Allow the cake to cool completely (it tastes great slightly warm). Before serving, dust lightly with confectioner's sugar if desired.
• Optional Serving Suggestions: Top each serving with a spoonful of lightly sweetened whipped cream and sprinkle lightly with ground cinnamon.

SMALL PEAR AND ALMOND CAKES

Steps:

• Poach pears:
• Peel pears, leaving stems intact, then core from bottom with melon-ball cutter. Toss pears with lemon juice in a bowl as peeled, then arrange on their sides in a 10-inch heavy skillet. Add wine, butter, and lemon juice from bowl (liquid will not cover pears) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until pears are just tender, 10 to 20 minutes. Transfer pears with a slotted spoon to a dish. Boil poaching liquid, uncovered, until just syrupy and reduced to about 1/4 cup, 12 to 15 minutes. Spoon syrup over pears and cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
• Prepare cakes:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Pulse almonds with 1/2 cup sugar in a food processor until finely ground, then transfer to a bowl (do not clean processor).
• Process butter with 1/2 cup sugar in processor until pale and creamy, then pulse in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, blending well after each addition, then pulse in almond mixture, flour, and salt until just combined.
• Lightly butter and flour ramekins, knocking out excess flour, then arrange in a baking pan. Divide batter among ramekins (about a slightly rounded 1/2 cup per ramekin), then gently nestle a pear, leaning it slightly and pressing it very lightly, into batter in center of each cake. (Cakes will rise around pears as they bake.) Reserve reduced poaching liquid for another use. Sprinkle pears and tops of cakes with remaining tablespoon sugar.
• Bake, rotating pan halfway through baking, until cakes are just firm and pale golden with slightly darker edges, about 20 minutes.
• Transfer ramekins to a rack and cool 10 minutes, then run a thin knife around edge of each cake and invert onto a plate. Turn cakes right side up and serve warm or at room temperature.