Banana tart

These little banana tarts are one of the most popular Mauritian desserts. Mashed bananas cooked in shortcrust latticed pastry – a taste of the tropics! Eat them warm straight from the oven with ice-cream, or at room temperature for afternoon tea. They are best eaten on the day of making.

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

Pastry

• 250 g plain flour 
• 175 g cold unsalted butter, chopped 
• 1 egg 
• a little water

Filling

• 10 ripe bananas
• 4 tbsp caster sugar 
• Parisienne essence

Chilling time 1 hour

Instructions

To make the pastry, combine the flour and butter in a food processor until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg and just enough water to bring the pastry together (about 1 tbsp). Shape the pastry into a disc, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, to make the filling, mash the bananas and sugar together in a saucepan, then cook over low heat, stirring regularly, for 15 minutes or until thick. Add the Parisienne essence for colour and stir well. Remove from the heat and cool.

Roll out two-thirds of the pastry on a lightly floured surface until 3 mm-thick and line small tart tins, reserving some dough for tops. Roll out the remaining pastry and cut into thin strips. This will form the top of the tarts.

Spoon the cooled filling into the pastry cases, smooth tops and form lattice pattern with pastry strips over the top of filling. Brush tops with egg wash and cook in a hot oven for 15 minutes until golden brown.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.