(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.

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
• 

  • 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
• 

• • 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.

  

  • 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!

  

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Tags: Chocolate, Dessert, Tart