Banana and cardamom tart Tatin

Seemingly ‘tart Tatin’ has become the modern day ‘brand name’ for tarts and pies baked with the
pastry on the top and that involves some variation of caramelisation on the underside. Although the
original version was with apples, its adulteration is fair game in my book. After all, the Tatin sisters
didn’t invent it, they just popularised it and were only given the credit after their death. So who’s to
know!

There is some confusion regarding the appropriate pastry for the topping for the classic version,
whether it should be puff or shortcrust. My version has neither; it’s a curious thing mine, a cross
between shortbread, sponge and cookie dough. Whatever it is, it’s certainly much more user friendly
than your average pastry, no rubbing, resting or rolling here. It has several advantages over using a
regular pastry, which unless you can serve straight from the oven can often look rather dull and two
dimensional by the time get around to serving. This dough on the other hand keeps its form nicely
and is thick enough to absorb the molten caramel without becoming soggy or chewy.

You need to be generous with the fruit content here as you do with any ‘Tatin’, as the fruit will
contract as it cooks in the oven, potentially leaving you looking a little mean. The caramel is
prepared separately in advance and poured into the tart cases to cool, making the whole process
even easier.

The quantities here will fill 8 individual tartlet cases or make one large one using a 20cm tart case –
just be sure to use one with a solid base and not one with a loose bottom.

I serve these with a crème patisière laced with rum; custard, cream or ice cream would work equally
well.

Ingredients

(makes 8, individual 10cm tarts)

For the caramel

Xxxg caster sugar

Xxml cold water

Xxg butter, cubed

For the dough

Xxxg caster sugar

Xxxg soft butter

4 egg yolks

Xxxg self-raising flour

Xxg ground almonds

8 ripe, yet firm bananas

10 green cardamoms

Preheat the oven to 180⁰C.

Start with the caramel; place the sugar and the water in a small pan and set over a low heat to firstly
melt the sugar, then increase the heat and let it bubble away until it turns a rich golden amber.
Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the butter, swirling the pan to melt and mix.

Meanwhile bash the cardamom seeds loose from the husks using a pestle and mortar and discard
them, then grind the seeds into a fine powder.

When the caramel is ready pour equal amounts into the base of each tart case and sprinkle over a
good pinch of cardamom in each. The caramel will start to harden as soon as the pan leaves the
heat, so don’t dilly-dally.

Now top the caramel in each tart case with overlapping slices of banana. I slice mine lengthways,
then gently splay the overlapping slices and use a cookie cutter the same diameter as the tart cases
to cut out rounds of sliced banana (don’t worry about the banana discolouring, they will turn a deep
golden colour anyway as they caramelise).

Now for the dough. Add the sugar to the softened butter in a largish mixing bowl and beat with an
electric hand mixer until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating thoroughly after
each addition. Add the flour and the ground almonds to the bowl at the same time, folding
everything together as best you can, then gather the dough with floured hands to bring the whole
thing together to form a ball.

Portion the dough into 8 roughly equal pieces.

Dust the work surface and your hands generously with flour, take one piece of dough at a time and
fashion it into a rough circle the same diameter as the tart case. They will be much thicker than you
would expect their pastry counterpart to be, at least a good 1cm deep or more. Using a cookie cutter
as a template will make for a quicker, neater job.

Lay the dough over the bananas and gently flatten them to encourage the dough right to the edges.
Repeat with the reaming seven.

Bake the tarts on a baking sheet in the preheated oven and check after 15 minutes. Their tops
should be the colour of a well-browned biscuit (more Rich Tea, than Bourbon) and the centres
should feel firm to the touch in the same way as a sponge cake would.

Once removed from the oven, you need to work reasonably quickly to remove them from the tart
cases before the caramel starts to harden off again. Use a small side plate to invert them one by one,
and flick off the upturned tart case carefully using something to protect yourself from making
contact with any escaping caramel.