Pear buckwheat cake (Kopie)

*****

makes one 9" round cake (or halve the recipe for one 6" round cake)
inspired by and very loosely adapted from David Lebovitz's Ripe for Dessert.

for pear sauce:
1 lb pears, peeled, cored, and in chunks
1/4 cup water

1. Combine the pears and water in a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a simmer and let simmer, covered, until the pears are completely tender, about 10-20 minutes depending on the size of the pears.
2. Remove from heat and let cool briefly.
3. Transfer the pears and water into a food processor or blender and blend until completely smooth. Store in the refrigerator (or can properly). You'll only need about 1/2 cup of pear sauce for the cake recipe.

for cake:
1 1/2 cups sliced almonds
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 tspn baking powder
1 tspn ground cinnamon
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup pear sauce
1 tspn vanilla extract
4 eggs, separated
1/4 tspn salt
1/4 tspn cream of tartar, optional
4 Tbspn granulated sugar
powdered sugar, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9" cake pan and line the bottom with a parchment paper round. Wrap with a bake-even strip, if desired.
2. In the food processor, combine and pulse the almonds, buckwheat flour, baking powder, and cinnamon until the almonds are finely ground.
3. In a mixer bowl, cream the butter and light brown sugar on medium for about 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Gradually add in the pear sauce, vanilla extract, and 4 egg yolks--one at a time, combining between each addition.
4. Place the egg yolks in a separate bowl with the salt and cream of tartar. Stir the egg whites with a whisk until the surface is completely covered with foam. Then, beat the egg whites, gradually adding the granulated sugar, until glossy peaks are reached.
5. Mix the buckwheat flour mixture into the butter mixture until combined. Stir in 1/3 of the egg whites until nearly combined and then carefully fold in the rest of the egg whites. Do not overmix!
6. Immediately transfer the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for ~45 minutes (~35 for a 6" cake) until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out cleanly. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool for ten minutes on a cooling rack before removing from the pan. Let cool completely. Sprinkle cake with powdered sugar, if desired.

for poached pears:
pears, ripe but firm*
4 cups water
4 Tbspn Darjeeling tea
1/2 cup sugar (or homemade vanilla sugar)

1. Cut the pears in half and use a melon baller to remove the seeds.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring the water just to a simmer. Add the tea and sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves.
3. Poach the halved pears in the tea, simmering until the pears are fork-tender, about 10-20 minutes, depending on the size of the pears. Once pears are done, drain and serve with cake.

*How many pears you'd like to serve is up to you. Four cups of water will probably accommodate about four whole medium-sized pears, so make sure to scale the recipe up or down and needed.
http://www.dessertsforbreakfast.com/2010/10/teatime-pear-buckwheat-cake-with.html