Caramelised Banana Tarte Tatin

Ingredients

• 4 ripe but firm bananas, peeled and halved lengthways
• 150 g caster sugar
• 60 g unsalted butter
• 0.5 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tbsp dark rum
• 1 pinch salt
• 320 g ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry
• 1 vanilla ice cream, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C fan. Tip the caster sugar into a 24cm ovenproof frying pan and set over a medium heat. Leave it alone until the edges start to liquefy, then swirl the pan gently — no stirring — until you have a deep amber caramel that smells nutty and just on the edge of bitter, 6–8 minutes.
2. Pull the pan off the heat and add the butter, cardamom, rum and salt. Stand back — it will hiss and spit. Stir until the butter melts into a glossy, fragrant caramel.
3. Lay the banana halves cut-side down in the caramel in a single tight layer, packing them in so they hold their shape as they cook.
4. Unroll the puff pastry and cut a circle a couple of centimetres wider than the pan. Drape it over the bananas and tuck the overhang down inside the pan around the fruit, like putting them to bed.
5. Bake for 25–28 minutes, until the pastry is well risen and deeply golden — pale pastry means a soggy tarte, so hold your nerve.
6. Rest for exactly 2 minutes — any longer and the caramel sets and welds itself to the pan. Set a serving plate over the top, and in one confident movement flip the lot. Scrape any caramel left behind in the pan and spoon it over the bananas. Serve warm, straight away, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting into the caramel.