I did make a few slight changes to the original recipe and I am listing my version below but the original recipe can be found here. I only used one can of pears and I used vanilla extract instead of almond extract. It still had plenty of almond flavor with the almond paste. And I also added a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar. This was so delicious and it makes a really attractive dessert that would be worthy of serving to company!
I had a terrible time trying to find Almond paste at the grocery store. After walking up and down the bakery aisle several times, I finally found it on the bottom row and this is what it looks like. This photo kind of makes the box look big but it comes in a very small box.
With mixer at low speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add egg until blended. Add flour; beat until blended. Grease 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom .(I used just a regular spring form cake pan.)
Press dough into bottom and up sides of pan. Prick
crust with fork.
Spread bottom with jam. Refrigerate this while you prepare the rest.
With mixer at low speed, beat almond paste, sugar and egg. Add butter and vanilla extract; beat until just blended. Add flour and baking powder; beat well.
Spoon mixture over jam in crust.
The original recipe stated to place the pear halve face down but I decided to slice the pears into about 3 or 4 sections each and making a spiral design. I only needed to use one 15 ounce can of pears by slicing them like this instead of the 29 ounce can that the original recipe called for.
Arrange pear slices into a spiral design on mixture in crust. Bake 50 minutes until filling is set. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, if desired. Cool completely.
I sprinkled about a teaspoon of cinnamon sugar over the top. This was pretty easy to make but yet it looks very fancy and impressive.
Doesn't this look delicious? The layer of strawberry jam in the middle is just enough to really make this yummy.
The crust and filling are melt in your mouth delicious!
Ingredients:
Crust:
6 tablespoons butter at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup seedless raspberry or strawberry jam
Filling:
4 ounces almond paste
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 (15 ounce) can pear halves, well drained
1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar
Directions:
1. Prepare crust: With mixer at low speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add egg until blended. Add flour; beat until blended. Grease 9-inch tart pan or 9-inch springform cake pan with removable bottom . Press dough into bottom and up sides of pan. Prick crust with fork. Spread bottom with jam. Refrigerate.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare filling: With mixer at low speed, beat almond paste, sugar and egg. Add butter and vanilla extract; beat until just blended. Add flour and baking powder; beat well. Spoon mixture over jam in crust.
3. Arrange pear halves, cut-side down on mixture in crust. Bake 50 minutes until filling is set. Sprinkle with Cinnamon sugar. Cool completely.