Banana-Chocolate tart

I was thinking of some classic flavor combinations and I noticed that I haven't done a banana dessert. Because bananas and chocolate go so well together I decided to make a tart including this two flavors. I discovered an amazing recipe (you can find it here) for banana caramel. I absolutely love desserts that include caramel and the thought of banana caramel sounded really delicious.

This caramel is my favorite component of the dessert and I will definitely make it again.
I also made a simple chocolate pastry using cocoa powder. The pastry is very versatile and can be used in many different desserts. I used only half of the pastry and froze the rest.

The tart looked good and it tasted even better. I would recommend this recipe for all chocolate-banana lovers. The banana mousse had a great flavor, the texture was a bit grainy but I didn't mind. When you cut the tart in half you can see the layers and the soft delicious caramel.

Chocolate-banana tart

(Makes about 6)

Time:

Preparation: 45min

Cooking: 10min

Baking: 15-17min

Setting: overnight

For the chocolate pastry:

• 25g cocoa powder
• 225g all-purpose flour
• 125g room temperature butter
• 80g icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• pinch of salt

For the banana caramel:

• 100g white granulated sugar
• 40g glucose syrup
• 50g butter
• 200g mashed banana
• 50g salted peanuts (to sprinkle on top)

For the banana mousse:

• 2 medium sized bananas (cut in small pieces)
• 50g white granulated sugar
• 30g butter
• 200g heavy cream
• 4g gelatin
• 1 tablespoon rum (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the chocolate ganache:

• 200g heavy cream
• 200g milk chocolate (chopped)
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee
• 50g butter

For the glaze:

• cold mirror gel
• yellow food coloring
• water

Making the chocolate pastry:

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and place the rack in the center of the oven.

Mix together flour and cocoa powder in a separate bowl.

Cream the butter, sugar and salt, together then mix in the  flour-cocoa powder mixture. Then add the egg and water so that the mixture comes together.

Gently work it together until you have a ball of dough, then flour it lightly.

Wrap the dough in cling film and put it in the fridge for at least an hour. 
When the dough is ready remove it from the fridge, roll it out, line your tart tin with it, gently prick holes with the fork so that the dough doesn't rise when baking. Cover and put in the fridge for half an hour (This will help prevent the crust from shrinking while it bakes).

Bake the pastry case blind (put pie weights or rice on the parchment paper in the tart shell before baking to prevent the pastry from shrinking and puffing up) for around 10 to 12 minutes or until firm Remove from the oven and remove the rice. 

Place back in the oven for 5-7 minutes to bake completely. Set aside to cool.

For the banana caramel:

Make dry caramel with sugar and glucose. When the caramel is dark amber add the butter a cube at a time and stir. 

Take off the heat and add mashed banana. Set aside to cool. Pour in the baked tart shells.

Sprinkle with chopped salted peanuts.

For the banana mousse:
Soak gelatin in cold water.
Make a dry caramel with the sugar. Add the butter and bananas, cook until soft. Take off the heat and add rum and vanilla extract. Add the gelatin and stir to combine. Blitz with immersion blender until smooth. Set aside to cool.

Whip the cream to soft peaks. Add 1/3 of the cream to banana mixture. Fold the rest of the mixture to the cream. Pour the mousse in silicon half-sphere mold and freeze.

  
Making chocolate ganache:
Heat cream until very hot. Combine chopped chocolate and instant coffee in a bowl. Pour over the hot cream. Wait 2 minutes the stir to combine.

 Blitz with immersion blender and add butter a cube at a time until incorporated and glossy.

Pour the ganache on top of the banana caramel. Place the tarts in the fridge until set.

Assembly:
Make a glaze with cold mirror gel. add some water and food coloring. Place the frozen mousse on a wire rack over a large bowl.

Pour the glaze over the mousse. Wait for the glaze to drip off.
Sprinkle the tart with some grated chocolate and place the frozen mousse on top.

Set in the fridge to thaw before serving.