Warm Chocolate & Banana Tart

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(Click on the picture for the food porn view)

In case you haven’t noticed, i have a giant sweet tooth. The same sweet tooth that caused me to lose about $40K in a dessert business venture a few years back but that’s a long story i rather not get into just yet. You would think that taking such a shower would permanently cure me from the sweet lovin’ side of me. Well, guess what? It didn’t.

As anyone with a giant sweet tooth chocolate plays a big part in my cravings. So i’ve been searching and searching for the ultimate chocolate dessert and today i can affirm this chocolate-banana tart is my all-time favorite. You may ask me again tomorrow and i may give you a whole different answer because err.. i change my mind a lot, but  i can assure you that this recipe will never be too far from the top of the list. Pinky swear!

Of course, pastry mastermind Pierre Hermé created this recipe. Who else would think of caramelizing bananas with a sliver of ultra hot habanero pepper and finishing them up with a few turns of black pepper? Who else would think of adding rum macerated raisins to this already brilliant combination? Who else does emulsify a chocolate ganache at such a precise temperature to create the silkiest, richest texture ever? Who else does wear his underpants upside down? err.. Oh no, wait, that was me yesterday.

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I took the liberty to slightly simplify this recipe. Should you trust someone who wears his underpants the wrong way, you asked? Well, i see your point my friends but i know how to take a shortcut when i see one, plus i was already late for work.. err.. which has nothing to do with this chocolate tart. Essentially, i used my own (simpler) version of pate sucree, increased the amount of habanero and i doubled.. yes, doubled the amount of banana used in the original recipe. There’s no such thing as too much of a good thing in my opinion. I didn’t mess with the ganache recipe though. It’s sacred.

Once again, let’s bow to the King who created this recipe and to Dorie Greenspan for bringing it to the English-speaking public in “Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé“, which i highly recommend.

Enjoy!

  • Chocolate-Banana Tart

    Adapted from “Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé” by Dorie Greenspan
  • serves 6
  • chocolate-banana-tart-11
    • For the Sweet Tart Dough:
    • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
    • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
    • Pinch of salt
    • 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
    • 1 large egg
    • For the Raisins & Caramelized Bananas:
    • 1/2 cup golden raisins
    • 3 tablespoons dark rum
    • 3 tablespoons water
    • 2 ripe bananas
    • 1/2 lemon juice
    • 2 tablespoons butter, unsalted
    • 1/2 habanero pepper, or to taste
    • 4 tablespoons sugar
    • a pinch of freshly ground black pepper
    • For the Chocolate Ganache:
    • 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably Valhrona Gastronomie 61%), finely chopped
    • 4 ounces butter (unsalted), cut into 8 pieces
    • 1 large egg (room temp’)
    • 3 large egg yolks (room temp’)
    • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • chocolate-banana-tart-9
    • For the Sweet Tart Dough:
    • Sift together the confectioners’ sugar, flour and salt into a bowl.
    • Place the butter into a food processor and process until smooth.
    • Scatter the flour mixture over the butter, add the egg and process just until the dough forms a mass; do not overmix.
    • Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least for an hour.
    • When ready, line a greased 9 inch tart pan with half the dough and chill for 30 minutes. Keep the rest for another use.
    • Preheat oven to 375’F. Line the dough with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights, dry rice or beans.
    • Bake for 10 minutes then remove the aluminum + weights and return the tart to the oven for 5 minutes more.
    • Let the tart shell cool on a rack.
    • For the Raisins & Caramelized Bananas:
    • Combine the raisins, rum and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow them to macerate a few hours.
    • Slice the bananas and cut them into 1/8 inch thick rounds. Toss them in the lemon juice.
    • Melt the butter with the habanero pepper in a large nonstick saute pan. Remove the pepper when the butter starts to bubble (leave it longer for spicier results). Add the banana slices to the pan (avoiding to crowd the pan too much) and sprinkle the sugar over the bananas. Cook until they’re a nice golden brown and flip them over to caramelize the other side. Add the black pepper. Cook one more minute and transfer them to a paper towel-lined baking sheet.
    • chocolate-banana-tart-10

    • For the Chocolate Ganache & Finish:
    • Fill the crust with the caramelized bananas (putting 6 slices aside for decoration) and macerated raisins.
    • Melt the chocolate and butter in a bain-marie in 2 separate bowls. Let them cool to 104’F (measured with an instant-read thermometer). This is a crucial step to achieve the creamy, silky chocolate texture.
    • In a mixing bowl, gently stir together the egg yolks, egg and sugar. Be careful not to beat too much air into the eggs. When the chocolate is at 104’F, gently stir it into the egg mixture using a rubber spatula the same way you would emulsify a mayonnaise, with steady, gentle concentric circles. When the chocolate is incorporated repeat the same operation with the butter at 104’F. When the mixture is smooth and shiny, pour it into the crust to cover the caramelized bananas and raisins.
    • Bake the tart at 375’F for exactly 11 minutes. It will be still a little jiggly but that’s normal.
    • The tart is ready to eat as soon as it comes out of the oven. It was just as good a few hours later. And it was amazing the next day as well. Do not refrigerate it!
    • chocolate-banana-tart-15

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  • http://www.bunkycooks.wordpress.com/ bunkycooks

    Oh my…I will not use religious words here, but this is incredible! You cannot continue to do this to those of us that need a diet! The pictures are truly amazing!

  • http://LiveLifeEatRight.wordpress.com Nora@LiveLifeEatRight

    I almost fell out of my chair when I saw this! This looks amazing you are SO talented!

  • http://www.6bittersweets.com Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets

    Oh goodness, I’m wiping the drool off the keyboard. I got that book recently, and now I know what I’m going to make first.

  • http://vanillamanda.blogspot.com/ Amanda

    Oh dear. You are ruining my dieting resolve.

  • http://www.thatssoron.blogspot.com thatssoron

    cant go wrong with banana’s n chocs… love it

  • http://www.my-easy-cooking.com nina

    Dear Lord, please keep my away from this temptation!! Zenman, you are no good for anyone with a weight issue!!

  • http://www.refillchinasim.com china sim card

    Good idea!Delicious food!But i want to diet before i read it.Now,i do not want to diet.

  • http://manggy.blogspot.com Manggy

    Humph, PH can eat his heart out cos I just dipped a banana in Nutella and ate it. Just kidding :) I’ve been salivating over this recipe in the book for a long time now! I should really give that book another look, it’s been too long-ignored.
    By the way… How in the world does one wear underpants upside-down??

  • http://dovilyte.solis.lt/ Dovilyte

    I love the pictures!!! Amazing! 😉

  • http://www.chocolateshavings.ca chocolate shavings

    That tart is perfection! Love the caramelized banana slices on top.

  • http://400caloriesorless.com Aileen

    I have now picked out my next ‘cheat day’ dessert. This looks incredible !

  • http://thelittleteochew.blogspot.com The Little Teochew

    I have this book, and seeing the recipe come to life on your blog is a sacred experience. 😉

  • http://ciaochowlinda.blogspot.com Ciaochowlinda

    You should be ashamed of yourself – subjecting us to this over-the-top food porn first thing in the morning.

  • http://ciaochowlinda.blogspot.com Ciaochowlinda

    But could I have a slice later today?

  • http://www.mrsbastinsdelights.com EmmaB

    drooooooooooooooooool. looks a-mazing!

  • http://feedetgastro.wordpress.com/ Becci

    That’s a whole load of processes! But it sure does look worth the effort. Scrumptious.

    Get in my mouth.

  • http://www.aglugofoil.com Jan

    Oh WOW this looks amazing!

  • http://www.justgetfloury.com Ginny

    Wow! Delicious! sigh…

  • http://lifeslashjustine.blogspot.com justine

    oh my god. that looks amazing….!

  • http://nutty4nutella.blogspot.com/ nutty4nutella

    This looks awesome! Could you do this with Nutella? Let me know. I am trying to come up with 365 ways to use Nutella.

  • http://fatgirltrappedinaskinnybody.blogspot.com julia

    Wow, this looks wonderful. Great job!!!!!

  • http://dolceinewyork.blogspot.com Dolce

    That’s a killer!!

  • Lil

    I would love to try it but cannot have alcohol. Is there something you can use to replace the Rum?
    Thank you

  • zenchef

    Nutty4Nutella — You can’t substitute nutella for chocolate in this recipe. It wouldn’t work. Herme has a Nutella tart recipe in the same book though.

    Lil — Skip the rum! Just boil the raisins in water only so they get nice and plump.

  • http://www.bitemekitchen.com Rose @ The Bite Me Kitchen

    You & your dessert recipes…there’s a special place in hell for you 😉 I’m sending you my personal trainers bill. I don’t have one yet, but I’m gonna need one after I stuff that whole tart in my face!

  • http://www.littlegirlinthekitchen.blogspot.com lagaminegourmande

    I love pierre herme. His desserts are amazing. This one looks spectacular. I love caramelized bananas.

  • http://kokken69.blogspot.com shirley@kokken69

    Oh yes, ‘Chocolate Desserts’ and ‘Desserts’ by Piere Herme are 2 of my favourite cookbooks for dessert treats. What is delightful is, despite of his Guru status, these recipes in his books are very actually very achievable for mortals like us. Your tart looks absolutely beautiful!

  • http://www.ameliefille.blogspot.com Noelle

    Me want food!! Wow this looks so good! Can I use really ripe bananas? I wasn’t to make this tonight so email me @ noellsky@gmail.com. thanks

  • zenchef

    Noelle — Yes, you can. Just don’t crowd the pan too much when you caramelized them so they don’t turn mushy. If they do, they’ll still be good though. Good luck!

  • http://breadetbutter.wordpress.com/ Su-yin

    This looks ridiculously good. I HAVE to make this. Or alternatively maybe you could FedEx a slice to London? 😛

  • http://Www.chocolateecstasy.blogspot.com Jennifer

    Oh! I want! That looks incredible! Thank you for sharing!

  • http://www.elinluv.blogspot.com Elin

    How could I resist it when Stephen , you made it so mouth watering good. Send a piece over…that is too much for you alone…share some with me :p

  • http://mylittleexpatkitchen.blogspot.com/ my little expat kitchen

    Chocolate and banana… is there a more perfect combination? Well, maybe there is, but this is one of my personal favorites! Looks so good.
    Magda

  • http://Littlegirlinthekitchen.blogspot.com LittleGirlInTheKitchen

    This looks spectacular, The caramelized bananas look like they blend very well with that gorgeous chocolate ganache!!

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  • Matevz

    Amazing tarte! Made it today and will remain on my recipe list. The top was not as shiny as it is on your photos. Any hint – perhaps a bit shorter baking time (I used fan forced oven)?

  • zenchef

    Matev — Thanks for trying this recipe! If you use a convection oven you should definitely shorten the cooking time by a few minutes.

  • http://huntingfortheverybest.wordpress.com Dina

    this looks amazing!

  • http://www.kitchentravels.com Dawn (KitchenTravels)

    Words are not sufficient to express my desire for this tart. It is possible that this is my favorite recipe post of yours to date… and that’s saying a lot. Beautiful!

  • http://www.chichoskitchen.blogspot.com Cherine

    Absolutely stunning!

  • http://twitgift.me/ Jerome

    Adding rum and (uh) habanero pepper can bring up a great tasting experience for the taster. Awesome! and thank you for the recipe book that you referred to us. :)

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  • http://frosken.wordpress.com Carla

    I intend to make this tart this weekend. Gonna post pictures on my blog. I wish I never discovered your website, now I will never lose weight. But that is of course not your fault.

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  • Yeong Yasmin

    goodness me, these pixs are absolutely amazing!! Wow. i want a pc. now !!

  • Randomhero76

    What can you use instead of raisins???

  • Guest

    I is a capital letter when talking about yourself.

  • Anonymous

    Wow ! what a delicious warm Chocolate & Banana Tart. Its looks so tasty and yummy. I love chocolates so much. Banana is a source of potassium. So it is good as a health wise.
     
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  • Anonymous

    Chocolate is my weakness. I really like banana and chocolates. Banana is a source of potassium. It is good as a health wise. I like this warm Chocolate and Banana tart recipe.

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