Cranberry Pear Tart with Almond Cream

http://somethewiser.danoah.com/2013/01/cranberry-pear-tart-with-almond-cream.html

Cranberry Pear Tart with Almond Cream
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Ingredients
2 cans Libby’s Pear Halves, well drained and patted dry
1 cup fresh cranberries, washed and dried

For the Crust:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk

For the Almond Cream:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
¾ cup ground blanched almonds
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

Directions
For the crust:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter a 9 inch fluted tart pan and set aside.

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse twice. Add the pieces of cold butter to
the dry mixture and pulse until mixture resembles coarse corn meal. Lightly beat the yolk and slowly
add it to the flour mixture, pulsing after each addition. When the yolk has been added, pulse until
dough begins to form large clumps. Remove dough from food processor and knead it on a lightly
floured surface until it is well combined.

Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the buttered tart pan. Freeze the crust for at least
30 minutes before baking.

Cover the tart with a buttered piece of aluminum foil. Bake on the center rack of preheated oven for 25
minutes. Carefully remove the foil and cool.

For the Almond Cream:
Combine the butter and sugar in a food processor until smooth. Add the ground almonds, flour, and
cornstarch being sure to process after the addition of each ingredient. Add the egg, vanilla, and spices
and process until the almond cream is well combined.

To assemble the tart:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Spread the almond cream evenly onto the bottom of the baked crust. Thinly slice 6 to 8 pear halves
crosswise. Scoop each half onto a spatula and slide it onto the almond cream in the center of the tart,
placing the wide end of each pear toward the edge of the crust. Gently press down on the pear to fan
out the slices forming a circle of pear spokes in the center of the tart. Pour the cranberries over the
almond cream and arrange evenly over the tart.

Bake the tart for 50 or 60 minutes or until the almond cream is puffy and golden. Cool tart on a wire
rack and serve at room temperature.