Caramelised Banana Tarte Tatin

• 4firm ripe bananas, about 440 g peeled weight, halved lengthways
• 150 gcaster sugar
• 60 gunsalted butter
• ½ tspground cardamom
• 1 tbspdark rum
• 1pinch salt
• 250 gall-butter puff pastry, rolled into a 26 cm circle about 3 mm thick
• 300 gvanilla ice cream, optional (optional)

Method

1. 1Heat 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. 2Pull 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. 3Lay 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. 4Lay the pastry circle over the bananas and tuck the edge down inside the 24 cm ovenproof pan. Cut a small slit in the centre to let steam escape.
5. 5Bake for 25–28 minutes, until the pastry is well risen and deeply golden; pale pastry means a soggy tarte, so hold your nerve.
6. 6Rest for 5 minutes. Wearing oven gloves, place a large heatproof serving plate over the pan, hold both firmly and carefully invert away from you. Lift off the pan, watching for hot caramel, and replace any fruit left behind. Serve warm with optional vanilla ice cream.

Per serving

kcal

400

protein

3.9g

fibre

2.6g

carbs

57.1g

fat

17.9g