Chocolate & Banana

I was flipping through the pages of Pierre Herme's Desserts cookbook when I came across the recipe for this tart. This cookbook was written by Dorie Greenspan, and I love anything that she writes. She has a keen eye for observation when baking, and her writing reflects that.

The tart was a hit at home, and one that I'll enjoy tweaking later on. The tart shell is a blind baked pate sucree made with all-purpose and almond flours. The banana slices are sauteed in butter and then caramelized with a little sugar. So you end up with soft banana inside and crunchy caramel coating the oustside. The slices are placed on the bottom of the tart shell. Rum macerated golden raisins are layered on top of the banana slices. The chocolate filling is prepared by melting butter and chocolate separately. The melted chocolate is gently whisked into some beaten eggs and sugar. Then the butter is slowly whisked in to create an emulsion. The filling is poured over the bananas and raisins and then gently baked for a short time. The resulting confection is awesome - satisfying, warm, and not too sweet.