Bananas Foster Tart

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup rum
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup raisins
6 bananas
1 9-inch homemade or prepared fully prebaked tart shell
1 1/2 cups homemade pastry cream, chilled
Whipped cream, mint sprigs and confectioners' sugar, for decoration

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In an ovenproof saucepan or deep skillet, combine sugar with 1/4 cup water and bring to a boil, stirring, over medium heat. Cook, stirring often with wooden spoon until sugar turns to a nutty brown caramel, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove pan from heat and carefully stir in cream, rum, spices and raisins (mixture will bubble furiously). Return pan to heat and boil 3 minutes. Peel bananas, slice them on the diagonal, and add to caramel sauce, turning to coat thoroughly. Transfer pan to oven and bake 3 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Immediately before serving, fill tart shell with pastry cream until three-quarters full, and smooth top. Arrange cooled bananas in a decorative pattern over top of tart; drizzle with a few spoonfuls of raisin-caramel mixture. Pipe whipped cream in decorative rosettes on top of tart and garnish with mint sprigs and confectioners' sugar.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings