Banana Tarte Tatin with Rum & Raisin Ice-Cream. This mouthwatering dish is quick and easy to prepare. Use whatever fruit you have on hand to create a classic and impressive dish at the drop of a hat.
“This dish reminds me of my time in London as a young chef with friends. We made a caramel, threw in Bundy rum, some bananas, then popped some pastry on top. When it was done we turned it onto a board, topped it with ice cream and ate it straight from the board, great times!”
Serves 6
Ice-cream
150 g raisins
125 ml (½ cup) dark rum
300 g caster sugar
12 egg yolks
500 ml (2 cups) milk
500 ml (2 cups) cream
Tarte tartin
1 roll frozen butter
puff pastry, defrosted (or use thinly rolled home-made pastry)
6 large bananas
250 g caster sugar
60 ml (¼ cup) water
80 ml dark rum
60 ml (¼ cup) cream
1 egg, beaten, for egg wash
For the ice-cream: soak raisins in dark rum overnight.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and egg yolks. Place milk and cream in a 2 litre saucepan and bring almost to the boil. Whisk hot milk mixture into the egg mix, then return to a clean saucepan and place over a moderate heat. Using a wooden spoon, stir constantly until custard thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Do not let mixture boil. Strain through a fine sieve, then refrigerate until cold.
Churn cold ice-cream mixture in an ice-cream machine. Once fully churned, stir rum and raisins through, and store in the freezer.
For the tarte tatin: pre-heat the oven to 220ºC. Butter a 26–28 cm fry pan. Cut the puff pastry to fit the top of the pan and set aside. Peel bananas and slice thickly on the diagonal.
Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and stir over a low heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, and boil without stirring until syrup turns to a dark caramel colour. Immediately remove from the heat and, very carefully, as caramel spits, stir in the rum. Return to a low heat and stir until smooth, then add cream and bring to the boil.
Pour the caramel into the base of the pan. Arrange sliced banana in concentric circles, then top with the puff pastry circle. Egg-wash pastry by brushing with beaten egg. Take care not to let egg run down the edge of the pastry. Bake for 10–12 minutes or until pastry is golden.
To serve: remove the tart from oven and, while still quite hot, invert tart onto the centre of a serving plate. Top each serving with a spoonful of rum and raisin ice-cream.
