Pear Tart

In Spring 2012, my mom sent me a photo copy of a recipe by Gail Simmons from an unknown magazine. I had not gotten around to making it until pears made it into my produce delivery the past couple of weeks. It turned out really well (although it's not at all healthy).  Gail suggests using peaches or plums instead of the pears when seasonally available. 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) softened, unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan
juice of 1/2 lemon, divided
1 lb pears (Concorde or Anjou), cored and sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
(I greased my pan with olive oil rather than butter and used Asian pears and refrigerated lemon juice because it's what I had)

Instructions:
1. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Squeeze half the lemon juice over pears.
2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3.  With an electric mixer (I used my kitchenaid), cream1/2 cup butter and 1 cup sugar on medium until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, then vanilla.  Beat in flour mixture on low until batter just comes together. Spread in pan.  Wrap and chill for at least 20 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 375F. Arrange pears in concentric circles on top of dough. Squeeze remaining lemon juice evenly over pears.
5. In a bowl, mix 2 Tbsp sugar with cinnamon.  Sprinkle over pears. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until edges are golden and center set.
6. Cool tart in pan for 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around edge. Remove sides of pan.