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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 0 Minutes |
Ready In: 0 Minutes Servings: 8 |
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Hira Rhode of North Bennington, Vermont, writes: My husband took me to The Perfect Wife Restaurant & Tavern in nearby Manchester to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. We rarely order dessert, but we couldn't resist the pear and almond tart. We have five pear trees of our own at home, so we could most definitely make good use of the recipe. Could you get it for us? To create the most flavorful tart, be sure to use very ripe pears. Ingredients:
2 large egg yolks |
2 tablespoons apple cider |
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour |
2 tablespoons sugar |
1/2 teaspoon salt |
9 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces |
1/2 cup (packed) almond paste (about 5 ounces) |
1/4 cup sugar |
1/4 cup all purpose flour |
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature |
2 large eggs |
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract |
4 medium bartlett or anjou pears (about 7 ounces each) |
Directions:
1. For crust: Whisk egg yolks and apple cider in small bowl to blend. Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add chilled butter and process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolk mixture and process until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour. Press dough evenly onto bottom and up sides of 11-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom; chill while preparing filling. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.)
2. For filling: Position rack in lowest third of oven. Preheat to 375°F. Blend almond paste and sugar in processor until almond paste is finely ground. Add 1/4 cup flour and 3 tablespoons room-temperature butter and process until thick paste forms. Add eggs and vanilla extract and process until smooth. Spread filling in crust; cover and chill while preparing pears.
3. Peel pears. Cut each pear in half lengthwise and core. Slice 1 pear half crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Press on pear half to fan slices toward wider end. Slide spatula under pear half and place atop tart filling, positioning narrow end of pear in center of tart and wider end against crust. Repeat with remaining pear halves. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Brush over pears.
4. Bake tart until pears are tender and crust is brown, about 50 minutes. Cool 30 minutes. Remove from pan and serve warm or at room temperature. (Tart can be prepared up to 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)
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