BANANA TARTE TATIN
With Ermie and Gertie’s Coconut Ice Cream

This is one of our favorite puddings all year round, bananas are glossy with sticky, sweet caramelized juices. It can be served hot or warm. A small slurp of Rum over the tart just before you serve it adds an extra special touch. The tart can be served with Ermie and Gertie’s Cinnamon Ice Cream too.

Serves 6

75 g (3 oz) caster sugar
50 g (2 oz) unsalted butter
4 1arge bananas
350 g (12 oz) puff pastry
flour for rolling out pastry
a pinch of ground cinnamon, to decorate

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5. If making one large tart, put the sugar and butter into a flameproof 25 cm (10 inch) cast-iron frying pan. Cook over a medium heat, stirring now and then, until the mixture turns into a smooth toffee. It will look very grainy to start with and the butter will look as if it has split away from the sugar, but just keep stirring and it will gradually come together. Now take the pan off the heat and make sure that the toffee covers the base in an even layer.

Peel the bananas and cut them sharply on the diagonal into long thick slices. Arrange them randomly over the base of the pan, overlapping them here and there, so that they cover the toffee in a thick layer. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface into a 28 cm (11 inch) circle - don't worry about it being too neat. Lay the pastry over the bananas and tuck the edges down into the pan to make the rim of the tart. Prick the top of the pastry here and there with a fork, then slide the pan into the oven and bake for 30 minutes until risen and golden.

Remove the pan from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Then run a sharp knife around the pastry to make sure that all the edges are free and place an inverted plate over the top of the pan. Turn the two over together and remove the pan. Cut the large tart into 6 wedges.

Serve with the Ermie and Gertie’s Coconut or Cinnamon Ice Cream, sprinkled with a little cinnamon.