Banana Tarte Tatin
This twist on the famous French apple or pear tarte tatin is not only one of the easiest desserts in the world to make but one of the most delicious. It also shows just how brilliantly unusual combinations can work. Black pepper provides the heat and the pink peppercorns a mild fruitiness. I never bother making my own puff pastry at home – just make sure you buy an all-butter one.
| Servings |
| 6people |
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Ingredients
- 50g buttersoftened
- 1 vanilla podsplit open and seeds scrapped out
- ½tsp pink peppercornscrushed in a mortar
- ½tsp black peppercornscrushed in a mortar
- 100g caster sugar
- 6 large ripe bananaspeeled
- 320g ready-rolled sheet of all-butter puff pastry
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6.
- Spread the butter evenly across the base of a 20cm ovenproof frying pan. Add both the vanilla pod and seeds. Top with a third of the crushed peppercorns, then sprinkle over the sugar.
- Peel the bananas and cut into pieces 3–4cm thick. Arrange them, cut side down, in concentric circles in the pan so that they are the same height as the rim. Sprinkle over another third of the crushed peppercorns.
- Unroll the pastry sheet and, using a plate slightly larger than the top of the pan, cut out a circle. Drape the pastry over the bananas and tuck the edges down the sides of the pan with the back of a spoon. Pierce the pastry a few times with the tip of a sharp knife.
- Place the pan over a medium-high heat for 3–4 minutes, until the sugar dissolves, then shake gently as it caramelises to a toffee colour and starts to bubble up the sides. Transfer to the oven and bake for 30–35 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Leave the tarte to stand for 10 minutes, then invert it carefully onto a serving dish.
- Remove the vanilla pod, sprinkle the tarte with the remaining crushed peppercorns, then cut into wedges and serve.
HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT TARTE TATIN
- It’s important to make a couple of holes in the pastry lid, otherwise the steam caught underneath will stop the pastry from cooking. Before turning out the tarte, give it a quick blast of heat on the hob, shaking the pan slightly to help to release the fruit cleanly from the caramel.
Recipe Notes
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