Bonkers for Bananas: Banana Upside-Down Tart

It's a good time to be friends with me.

Wow, that's a bold statement.  So let me give you the facts and then let you decide.

I don't know what happened to me, but I have been bitten with the baking bug.  Yes, I am working on these banana recipes and all, but it is more than that. 

For example, last Friday I was in the middle of cleaning my house, dust rag in hand.  Suddenly I had a craving for snickerdoodles.  Like I needed them, and I needed them now.  Down went that dust rag and out came the sugar.

Those snickerdoodles were good, but come on, what do we (a little family of two) do with 24 cookies?  I mean, besides get ridiculously fat?  Especially when we are still working through homemade ice cream and there is a banana tart on the way? 

We share them with friends. 

And what do I do with an entire banana tart that I made this morning?

I cut it in half, wrap it up, and share it with another friend.  And it was oh-so-good.

As far as I can see, this baking streak is not ending any time soon.

Like I said, it is a good time to be friends with me.

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Banana Upside-Down Tart

Recipe taken from Everyday Food, March 2012

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes, plus chilling

Yield Serves 8

Ingredients

• For the Crust

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for work surface
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 3 to 5 tablespoons ice water

• For the Filling

  • 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter
  • 2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup dark rum, brandy, or bourbon
  • 5 firm-ripe medium bananas, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Make the crust: In a food processor, pulse flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary, add up to 2 tablespoons ice water); do not overmix. Form dough into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make the filling: In a 10-inch ovenproof skillet, melt butter and brown sugar over medium-high, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbling, 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add rum, swirling to combine. Arrange banana slices in an even layer over sauce.
3. On a floured work surface, roll dough into a 12-inch round. Place on top of bananas and fold overhang inward. Bake until crust is golden and mixture is bubbling around edge, 45 to 50 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate and serve warm.

Cook's Note

Top It Off
Instead of trimming away excess dough, fold it over to make a sturdier base for the tart. Besides, who doesn't love more crust? Serving whipped cream alongside is not essential -- but it is wonderful.

Cost: $5.75                   Cost Per Serving (8) $0.72