FOR THE ALMOND PASTRY
3 c Unbleached all-purpose flour 2 ts Vanilla extract
18 tb Unsalted butter; chilled 4 tb Sugar
– cut into small pieces 1 ts Salt
2 Eggs 1/2 c Finely chopped almonds
1 tb Milk Flour
-FOR THE FILLING-
3 7-oz tubes almond paste – in extra-light syrup or
2 Eggs – juice, drained
2 tb Amaretto liquor – and blotted dry
14 Canned pear halves, in juice 1/2 c Apple jelly
-OR in extra light syrup 8 oz Low-fat vanilla yogurt
– drained or blotted dry 4 oz Sour cream
14 Canned apricot halves
MAKE THE CRUST: Combine the flour, butter, eggs, milk and vanilla in
the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel chopping blade. With
an on-off motion, process until the butter is the size of small peas.
Add the sugar, salt and almonds and process just until the dough
starts to pull together. Do not overprocess. Remove the dough from
the bowl, pat it into a ball, then flatten it into a disk about
3/4-inch thick, and dust with flour. Cover with plastic wrap and
refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375F. Remove the
dough from the refrigerator and gently massage it until it is
workable, turning it over a couple of times, and starting to flatten
it with your fingertips. Dust the dough, rolling pin and board or
pastry cloth with flour, and quickly roll dough into a rectangle
large enough to fit into an 11-by-17-inch jelly roll pan and about
1/8-inch thick. If the dough sticks, add small amounts of flour and
loosen with a dough scraper or long, thin-bladed knife. Carefully
roll the dough over the pin or fold it into quarters and position it
over the pan. Unroll, and ease the dough into the tart pan, working
to flatten the bottom and to ease the dough well into the corners and
against the sides. Patch where necessary, then trim off any excess
dough with a knife. Prick in several places, and transfer the pan to
the middle of the preheated oven to bake just until the pastry is set
but not browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the pan and let the
pastry cool while preparing the filling.
FILL THE TART: In a medium-size bowl, combine the almond paste, eggs
and amaretto, beating with an electric mixer until smooth. Scrape the
mixture into the crust, and spread it evenly with a metal spatula.
With a sharp, thin-bladed knife, cut across each pear half at
1/4-inch intervals. You should end up with about 7 slices. Beginning
at the left edge of 1 long side, place the wide end of the pear
touching the side of the pan, pressing gently to elongate it. Put an
apricot half at the narrow end. Next, place an apricot touching the
side of the pan, to the right of the first pear, and add a sliced
pear with the narrow end touching the apricot. Continue until the
whole side is filled with 7 pear halves and 7 apricot halves. Repeat
the same procedure for the second half of the tart, continuing with
the pears facing in the same direction as they do in the first row.
Return the pan to the oven, and bake until the almond paste is light
brown and the crust is a rich brown, about 15 to 18 minutes. While
the tart is baking, melt the jelly over low heat. Remove the baked
tart, brush on the jelly glaze, and let the tart cool to room
temperature. Cut the tart into serving size portions of an apricot
and pear on each slice. Combine the yogurt with the sour cream and
spoon it over the tart as it is served.
Yields
14 servings