ITALIAN ALMOND CAKE WITH POACHED FRUIT

This is based on a classic cake usually made with cornstarch and flour. When I published a recipe for it in the Los Angeles Times, readers called and asked if this dessert could be made for Pessah. This turned out to be a good idea. This Pessah version, made with potato starch, tastes very similar to the the original cake. A combination of fresh pears poached with prunes or dried apricots is a perfect companion for the cake.

ALMOND CAKE
70 gr. unsalted margarine
3/4 cup whole blanched almonds
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup potato starch, sifted
3 large eggs
2 Tbsp. orange liqueur

POACHED PEARS WITH PRUNES OR APRICOTS
1 kg pears
1 lemon
1 cup sugar
1 cup prunes or dried apricots

To make cake: Grease a 20-cm round cake pan, about 5 cm deep. Line base with a round of waxed paper or foil; grease paper or foil with a bit of margarine. Preheat oven to 190°. Melt margarine in a small saucepan over low heat; let cool. Grind almonds with sugar in a food processor to a fine powder.

Beat 1 egg with almond mixture at low speed of mixer until blended, then at high speed for 2 minutes or until mixture is thick and smooth. Add remaining eggs one by one and beat at high speed about 3 minutes after each. Beat in liqueur. Sprinkle potato starch over almond mixture and fold it in gently. Gently fold in melted margarine in a fine stream.

Transfer immediately to cake pan. Bake for 28 to 30 minutes or until cake comes away from pan and a cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Carefully turn cake out onto a rack. Gently remove paper. Turn cake over again so smooth side is down. Let cool. To poach fruit: Pare zest of lemon in strips. Halve the lemon; squeeze 1 Tbsp. juice; set lemon half and juice aside.

Combine sugar, 1 liter water and lemon zest strips in large heavy saucepan and heat over low heat, stirring gently, until sugar dissolves. Raise heat to high and bring to boil. Remove from heat. Peel pears. Rub them well with cut side of lemon. Halve pears lengthwise. With point of peeler, remove flower end and core of each pear, including long stringy section that continues to stem.

Bring syrup to boil. Add pears, prunes and the Tbsp. lemon juice. Cover with a lid slightly smaller than diameter of saucepan to keep pears submerged. Reduce heat to low and cook fruit until tender when pierced with sharp knife, about 12 minutes. Cool fruit in syrup, still covered with small lid, to room temperature. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Serve cake slices with fruit topped with a little of the poaching syrup. Serve remaining syrup separately. Makes 6 to 8 servings.