Johns Pear And Almond Cream Tart Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• In a mixing bowl cream butter with sugar until fluffy. With mixer on low, beat in egg. Scrape down sides of the bowl. Mix in brandy and vanilla. Add almond and all-purpose flours. Mix until creamy. Cover and refrigerate. Place almond filling into tart shell, spread level. Cut poached pear halves crosswise into 1/4-inch slices. Reshape pear halves and arrange 8 halves around the top of each tart, "spoke" fashion. Press pears lightly to fan out. Bake for 40 minutes or until top is well browned and filling is springy to the touch. Cool and serve at room temperature.
• Note: To poach pears, peel, core and halve pears, place in a pot with 1 3/4 cups white wine, 3/4 cup water, 4 ounces of sugar, 1 cinnamon stick, vanilla bean split, and 4 black pepper corns. Bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer, cook for 30 minutes or until pears are tender when pricked. Cool in liquid.
• In a mixing bowl combine flour, sugar and salt, cut in butter until it resembles small pebbles. With a mixer running add vanilla and slowly drizzle in water until dough comes together in a sticky mass. Roll into a ball, wrap and chill at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours before rolling. Roll shell to fit into a 9-inch tart pan. Set aside.;

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425°F.
• Beat butter and 1/3 cup sugar in small bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Add flour; mix well. Press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of 9-inch springform pan.
• Beat cream cheese and 1/3 cup of the remaining sugar in same bowl with mixer until blended. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Spread onto bottom of crust. Mix remaining sugar and cinnamon until blended. Add to pears in large bowl; toss to coat. Arrange over cream cheese layer; top with nuts. Bake 10 min.
• Reduce temperature to 375°F; bake torte 25 min. or until center is set. Cool completely. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen torte. Remove rim. Refrigerate torte 3 hours.

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 10-in. circle. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. , In a large bowl, combine 3/4 cup sugar and flour; add pears and toss to coat. Spoon over the crust to within 2 in. of edges. Fold up edges of crust over filling, leaving center uncovered. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. , Bake at 450° for 15 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly. Sprinkle with almonds; bake 5 minutes longer. Using the parchment, slide tart onto a wire rack to cool.