Almonds being my second favorite nut, I absolutely adore marzipan, and its fluffier Italian cousin, frangipane. Anything made with almonds and amaretto, I’m all over it.
the best candy bar in the world, no question
Three years ago, during winter lockdown 2020 in Sighnaghi, Georgia, I made a divine persimmon frangipane tarte. I’m not a huge fan of persimmons though, but since pumpkin wasn’t happening, and these were plentiful, that’s what I did.
Actual pie crust, with frangipane filling,
and persimmon-spiced custard on top
This year, dad sent us a box of pears, so I wanted to do the same with them. I had some marzipan/frangipane hybrid left over from the donuts so I thought I could use that as the crust… but then I was distracted this morning with the idea of pear-maple scones…
In the end, I created a scone-like batter (flour, butter, baking powder, salt), incorporating some ricotta and the frangipane. I laid out the sliced pears on a buttered pie dish with a layer of maple syrup, then poured a bit more on top. I patted out a circle of the scone-marzipan dough and placed it on top. Baked at 350 for about 45 minutes.
out of the oven
and flipped, tarte tatin style
sliced with mascarpone & nutmeg