Pear and Almond Cake, and Art and History in Fort Wayne
I don’t know about you, but when it’s hot outside, and still summer, I don’t feel like having heavy desserts, like anything chocolate, or cakes, and the like. Don’t get me wrong, I love those almost at any time of year and any time of day! But my body asks for something fresh, cold even, fruit, or fruity desserts, or ice cream. However, there are things I cannot ignore, and even though I walk fast past the apple aisles, because I know they are going to be there for many months, I cannot —don’t want to— avoid the gorgeous pears, in all colors, shapes, sizes, textures and flavors. And you know that I’m hanging on to summer like a limpet to rock.
So I decided to bake a pear and almond cake, light and moist, fairly easy to make, with no fancy decorations, just full of delicious flavor. This kind of cake is found at many bake shops and homes in my home region of Valencia, whether including apple, or lemon, or orange, or walnuts, or a combination, in what is usually called torta or coca or bizcocho.
Our very own Barr Street Farmers Market will close its doors for the fall and winter at the end of this month, and I am visiting every time I can. We are very lucky in Fort Wayne to be able to enjoy this market, which has grown over the few years of its recent existence (even though it is Fort Wayne’s oldest public space, dating back to 1837!).
The market sits next to the History Center, a Richardsonian Romanesque style building, constructed in sandstone in 1893, and that is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The building served as Fort Wayne’s city hall until 1971, and it’s located a short walk away from the Old Fort, built by the French in the 1860‘s. Located between the two are Main Street and the Museum of Art, Headwaters Park, and the Saint Mary’s River, one of three rivers that cross the city, making this area the perfect location for the site of a yearly festival, Taste of the Arts, which we enjoyed last weekend. From the market on Barr Street, overflowing and spreading into Main Street and the adjacent park, booths and stalls —and recently, fancy food trucks as well— fill the space of art organizations doing demonstrations or inviting you to hands-on activities, restaurants sharing the delectable dishes by which they’re known, and crafters selling their goods. Musicians, dancers, and other artists provide entertainment, music and color, while at the fort, reenactments of battles and life in the early times are represented. You know I’m a sucker for history, for art, and for food, so this is in my element.
After a fun morning with family and friends, I walked away with delicious goodies for my kitchen, both to cook and to display, and ready to put the late fruits of summer into delicious dishes, like the pear and almond cake I’m sharing today. I didn’t use almond flour in this one, but sliced almonds insteadthat I pounded to a crumbly consistency with my mortar and pestle. The bits of almond in every spoonful, mixed with the soft pear, made for a more interesting conbination.
PEAR AND ALMOND CAKE
Bizcocho de Peras y Almendra
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
5 medium eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups sliced almonds
1 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp cinnamon
3 pears
1 tsp each granulated sugar and cinnamon, for dusting
Preheat the oven to 315ºF.
Butter the base and sides of a 10-inch springform cake pan, and line its base with a round cutout of parchment paper.
Lightly grind the almonds (I like to use a mortar and pestle, so I can better control the final texture, which is a bit crumbly, not super fine like almond flour).
In a bowl, mix the flour and baking powder.
Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until creamy. Add the eggs, one by one, until incorporated. Add the almonds, and when incorporated, add the flour and baking powder mixture. When incorporated, add the cinnamon and ginger powder.
Peel the pears, half them and remove their core. Slice them into 1/8 inch slices.
Place half the cake mixture in the cake pan, and level with a spatula. Place a layer of half the pear slices over the cake mixture, distributing them evenly. Cover with the rest of the cake batter and level with a spatula. Bake for 25 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven and carefully layer the remaining slices of pear on top. Sprinkle with the mixture of sugar and cinnamon and return to the oven, baking for an extra 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in it comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the cake pan and let cool for 20-25 minutes before serving.
