Banana Caramel Tart
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This is a very simple variation on a classic tarte tartin, using banana and caramel in place of apples. Shop bought puff pastry (a little tiny sin) means it is super-quick to put together!
INGREDIENTS
(Makes one medium-sized tart of approximately 6 slices)
- 1 large sheet of puff pastry
- 2 bunches of small finger bananas (approx. 10 bananas)
- 100 caster sugar
- 30g of unsalted butter + extra for greasing
- Handful of light brown sugar - for sprinkling
- ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- Vanilla ice cream to serve
Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Grease the base and sides of a medium-sized flan tin with a little of the butter. It is very helpful to use a flan tin with a detachable base as this will make things a lot simpler when you come to extracting the finished tart. Puff pastry has a lot less integrity than short crust and will need to be lifted carefully from the tin if it is going to make it in one piece. If you are using a puff pastry block, roll this to a thickness of 0.5cm and then carefully lay it over the greased tin. If you have a pre-rolled puff pastry sheet, then simply lay this over the tin. Gently press the pastry into the edges of the tin, leaving the excess to hang lightly over the fluted rim. When you have done this and everything has been pressed into place, take a sharp knife and cut away this extra pastry from the sides. This does not need to be too perfect as, unlike with short crust pastry, everything will puff and become uneven in the oven, so just make it as neat as you can.
Next, lightly prick the pastry all over using a fork. Blind bake for 10 minutes, or until the pastry has only just begun to colour, and then remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
Take this time to prepare the bananas by peeling, and laterally slicing the bananas into two. Next is the fun bit - getting these to all fit as elegantly as possible in the circular puff base crust. My only, kind of obvious, bit of advice is to use any slightly larger bananas around the outside edge, and smaller ones as you move towards the centre. It's all a bit of a jigsaw, and you will have to trim the most central bananas down to size a little. When you have the base concentrically covered with bananas as best you can, sprinkle over the light brown sugar, just a small handful (about 3 tablespoons) is enough. Also sprinkle the cinnamon evenly over the bananas.
To prepare the caramel, place the sugar in a small pan, preferably a light-coloured one, aluminium for instance, if this is available, as it is easier to notice the sugar change colour as it caramelises against a pale background. Heat the sugar over a medium heat - after a few minutes, if you watch carefully, you will notice that it begins to melt around the edges. Keep a close eye on it, after about 5 minutes or so, when approximately a quarter of the sugar has turned to liquid, give the caramel a stir. Keep the pan on the heat, and continue to stir for approximately another 5 minutes, until the sugar has completely liquefied and is the colour and texture of a dark runny honey. It is important to have the patience to let the sugar caramelise completely before removing from the heat, but on the other hand, if yours is looking ready before the 10 minutes is up, don't hesitate to take if off the heat as it can quickly burn if left too long.
Next, carefully add 2 tablespoons of tap water the caramel. This will sputter as you do so, so make sure to keep you hands clear or protected. Stir the water through, and then add 30g of the butter, continuing to stir this through.
Pour the caramel evenly over the bananas, then bake for 20 minutes until the bananas have softened and the edges of the pastry are golden brown. If your pastry is beginning to look too toasted on the edges before the bananas are ready, prepare a rough ring of aluminium foil and place this lightly on top to protect them from browning further while the bananas finish cooking. Serve warm, with Chantilly cream or a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream.
