PEAR AND DRIED CHERRY FRANGIPANE CAKE

Pear and Dried Cherry Frangipane Cake image

Yield Makes 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 12

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
3 large eggs
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup extra-light olive oil
1/3 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon self-rising flour
2 large pears, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 1/3 cups dried tart or Bing cherries
1 7-ounce tube almond paste
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Powdered sugar

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 8-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 1/2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Line pan bottom with parchment paper; spray parchment. Using electric mixer, beat 2 eggs, 2/3 cup sugar, oil, milk, and vanilla in large bowl until smooth. Add 1 1/2 cups flour; beat just until combined. Stir in pears and cherries. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Smooth top.
Crumble almond paste into medium bowl; add cinnamon, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 tablespoon flour. Using electric mixer, beat mixture just until blended. Spoon atop cake batter. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out with small moist crumbs attached, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Run knife around pan to loosen cake. Remove pan sides. Peel off paper. Transfer cake to plate; sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Cover; let stand at room temperature.)