Bananas Foster Galette

So, there's been this Tenderflake™ frozen pie crust just kind of hanging around in our freezer for the past month. I'm not quite sure why they always only package pie crusts in pairs... they should let you choose to buy a single crust. Anyways, I decided that today I would use up the pie crust to save it from getting that "delightful" freezer-burn taste and make something that I've always wanted to try... a galette.

This rustic-style tart caught my eye a long time ago, but I just haven't gotten around to attempting it. And now that I'm ready to bake a galette, I have to find the perfect filling. I thought long and hard, and then realized that I had a couple banana's lying around my kitchen, I had raisins and I always have rum (well, not always... :P). This brought to mind a recipe for bananas foster that I had made last summer. So, in combining the two desserts, I envisioned a masterpiece of culinary delight... the Bananas Foster Galette.


Bananas Foster Galette

Ingredients:
- 1 pie crust, frozen or home-made
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup rum
- zest of one orange
- 2 bananas, sliced
- 2/3 cup chopped nuts, you can use pecans, walnuts or another favorite (I used pine-nuts)
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/8 cup milk
- 1/4 cup condensed milk
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp each of allspice and cinnamon
- 1 egg white
- 2-3 tsp demerara sugar

Method:
1. If using frozen pie crust: let thaw at room temperature for 15mins, or until it is soft and can be moulded without breaking. After thawing, remove from pan and place on a baking sheet; flatten crust slightly.

2. If using home-made pie crust: after chilling, roll out crust into a 10.5-inch circle (it doesn't have to be perfectly round... that's the beauty of this rustic tart!)

3. Soak raisins in rum for at least 5mins. Meanwhile, sprinkle orange rind over the base of the tart; remember when filling this tart to leave a 1-inch border.

4. Arrange sliced bananas in an even layer over the pie-base. Sprinkle on the chopped nuts.

5. In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter, milk, condensed milk, maple syrup and spices. Heat over medium-high heat for 2-3mins or until the mixture begins to boil and thicken. Remove from heat.

6. Add in the rum and raisins to the saucepan, do not stir. Light a match and place it in the saucepan, being sure to make contact with the rum. This will burn off any access alcohol, and remove the bitterness from the final product.

7. Return saucepan to heat, and mix rum+raisins into the sauce. Continue heating until sauce thickens slightly (2mins).

8. Remove mixture from heat and let cool for at least 5 mins, the sauce will continue to thicken.

9. Spoon the rum sauce over the bananas and nuts. (Note: you may not need to use all of the sauce.) Use just enough sauce to coat the bananas and nuts well; and again, leave a 1-inch border.

10. Fold the pie-crust edges into the center, moving systematically in one direction. Gently press the crust edge to seal in the filling.

11. Lightly brush the crust edge with egg white, sprinkle on the demerara sugar and bake the galette for 30-40mins at 350-degrees.

12. Remove from oven, allow galette to cool on the bakingsheet for 3mins. Serve warm, with ice cream.

The ooey-gooey filling... Yum!

Folding in the edges

One of my sisters really enjoyed the pie. She loves bananas and anything that is flaky and pastry-like. My other sister felt that the galette was too sweet, and that she couldn't handle the intense rum flavor. I agree that the galette was very sweet, but I honestly love my sweets... I think I have a very, very sweet tooth. My parents could taste the rum right away, and my dad asked for a second helping. My mom enjoyed it, but could only handle the sweetness of one piece. There was about a half-cup of rum sauce left over from this recipe, and it goes very well with ice cream. Swirl the leftover sauce with 1 liter of ice cream, and you have yourself a delicious new flavor... banana foster ice-cream. Hmm, I should market this flavor to Häagen-Dazs.