Tag Archives: cake

Sweet things: A pear tart

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One of my favorite german sweets is a pear tart. What a perfect time of year to make one with pears coming into season and needed to take something to a potluck dinner 🙂

My favorite recipe from “Das Buch vom Backen – Die Grosse Schule” is listed below – it is a pear and almond tart.

Ingredients

Pastry
155g flour
90g cold butter (diced)
60g sugar
2 egg yolks
1-2 Tbsp ice-cold water (optional – use only if dough does not form a ball)

  1. Combine the flour and the butter, by rubbing in the butter into the flour, until it appears crumbly.
  2. Mix in sugar.
  3. Make a well in center add in the egg yolks with a fork until pastry will stick slightly together to form a ball. If you think it is still too dry add 1 Tbsp of cold water
  4. Put the mixture in glad wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes
  5. After 30 minutes, place the dough between two plastic pieces of glad wrap and roll the dough out into a circle big enough to fit into a 24cm (~12 in. ) spring form cake tin.
  6. Place dough in the tin, with baking paper covering the dough and weighed down with a pie weight. Place in the oven at 180 degrees C (350 degrees F).
  7. Bake blind (i.e. covered) for 10 minutes, then take off the paper and pie weight bake for 10 more minutes.
  8. Allow the pastry to cool.

Filling
165g softened butter
160g sugar
3 eggs
135g almond flour
1 1/2 Tbsp Flour
2 ripe pears (sliced)

  1. Cream the butter and the sugar in a bowl for approximately 30 seconds.
  2. Add one egg at a time and mix into the cream mixture until well blended
  3. With a metal spoon mix in the almond flour and flour
  4. Place the filling mixture into the pastry.
  5. In a cross formation, place the pears into the filling; largest slices (outside edge) to smallest slices (towards the center).
  6. Place the tart into the oven and bake at 180 degrees C (350 degrees F) for 50 minutes. You need to ensure that the center is cooked.
  7. Take of the spring form cake tin, and allow the tart to cool for two hours.
  8. To serve, sprinkle confectionary sugar (powdered sugar/icing sugar) on top; and serve. The tart goes great with a dollop of whip cream.

Linked up with Tuesday At the Table

Upside down plum cake (Pflaumenkuchen)

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As I mentioned previously, I love rhubarb but plums are a close second. I decided to try a upside down plum cake (pflaumenkuchen), which was my favorite cake when we were living in Germany.

I loved how it turned out, and it tasted great served warm with a dollop of vanilla sweet whipped cream. Complement with a latte or a latte macchiato.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups (250 g) sugar
80ml water
6-8 plums (sliced)
2 eggs
1/3 cup (40g) icing sugar (confectionary sugar)
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
100g (1 stick) butter (melted left to cool)
1 cup (125g) flour
2 tsp baking powder

  1. Heat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F).
  2. Place water and sugar into a pan and heat slowly and stir gently occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Continue to heat to almost boiling, syrup should become a caramel color (be careful not to burn).
  3. Place the caramelized sugar in a spring form cake tin (~20cm) that has been lined with baking paper. Spread over the paper. Arrange the plums in a circle pattern on top of the sugar.
  4. In a bowl place the eggs, icing sugar and vanilla essence, beat until creamy. Fold the  butter, into egg mixture. Finally, fold in the flour and baking powder to the butter-egg mixture.
  5. Spread the batter over the plums evenly.
  6. Place into the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until the sponge springs back. Leave in the form until cool, then gently turn cake and lift the form off. Peel off the baking paper carefully.
  7. Serve warm with a dollop of cream.

Let me know if you have any great cake or tarts using fruit….I love trying new recipes.