This layered tart combines the flavors of your favorite Ben & Jerry’s ice cream – a fudgy bottom, vanilla pastry cream and bruleed bananas on top — all inside a walnut tart shell.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 7 hr 45 min |
| Active: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (55 grams) walnuts
- 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (100 grams) sugar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick; 113 grams) unsalted butter, cubed and cold
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon (145 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- Pinch kosher salt
- 2 cups (480 grams) whole milk
- 1 tablespoon (22.5 grams) vanilla bean paste
- 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) kosher salt
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (120 grams) sugar
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (60 grams) cornstarch
- 5 large egg yolks (90 grams)
- 4 tablespoons (55 grams) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/3 cup jarred hot fudge sauce, such as C.C. Brown’s Original Hot Fudge Sauce
- 3 large bananas, thinly sliced on the bias
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- Chopped walnuts, for garnish
Instructions
- For the tart crust: Pulse the walnuts and sugar in a food processor until they are finely ground, about 6 pulses. Add the cold butter and pulse until the walnuts and sugar come together with the butter, but the mixture is not homogenous. Add the flour and salt and pulse again until the butter is the size of small peas. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead until it just comes together. Form into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Lightly flour the dough and roll it between 2 pieces of parchment or plastic wrap to about 1/4 inch thick. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, patching any holes. Use a fork to gently prick the crust, ensuring that steam can escape while it bakes. Freeze until hard, 6 to 8 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the tart crust until pale golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- For the pastry cream: While the tart crust dough is chilling, bring the milk, vanilla bean paste and salt to just under a boil in a medium pot over medium heat. Meanwhile, whisk the sugar, cornstarch and egg yolks in a medium bowl until smooth and combined. Whisking constantly, ladle half the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture, one ladle at a time. Continue until all the hot milk has been whisked in and the egg mixture is now warm.
- Return the milk and egg yolks to the pot and cook over medium-low heat, whisking, until thickened to a pudding consistency, 3 to 5 minutes. Immediately strain through a chinois or fine-mesh sieve into a large airtight container. Stir the butter cubes into the pastry cream until melted and combined. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the pastry cream, and refrigerate until chilled through, about 2 hours.
- For the assembly: Spread the fudge sauce over the cooled tart shell and top with an even layer of thinly sliced bananas (using about half). Add a layer of pastry cream (about 1 cup) and smooth into an even layer; reserve the remaining cream for another use (see Cook’s Note). Top with the remaining sliced bananas, shingling them slightly and arranging them in a concentric circle. Sprinkle the sugar over the bananas and brulee with a kitchen blow torch until golden brown. Garnish with some chopped walnuts.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 629 |
| Total Fat | 17 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Carbohydrates | 112 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 66 g |
| Protein | 10 g |
| Cholesterol | 143 mg |
| Sodium | 247 mg |