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1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
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2
Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and toast, shaking the pan occasionally, until lightly golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool. Turn the oven temperature down to 325 degrees.
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3
Stir together the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves and corn syrup and evenly coat the bottom and sides of a 10-inch glass pie plate with the mixture. When the almonds are cool, arrange around the bottom rim of the pie plate, with a few in the center, pressing them into the brown sugar mixture. Arrange the pear halves like spokes of a wheel on top of the brown sugar mixture.
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4
In a mixing bowl, combine the pastry flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt and thoroughly mix.
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5
In another bowl, whisk together the softened butter, sour cream, egg yolks and vanilla. Add to the dry ingredients and mix with an electric mixer at medium speed about 1 1/2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, until thick and smooth.
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6
Using a spatula, spread the batter evenly over the fruit, building up the outside edges so the cake will be level when baked. Bake 40 to 50 minutes, until golden-brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
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7
Transfer to a rack and cool 3 to 5 minutes (no longer) and then invert onto a serving plate, repositioning the fruit as necessary.
