When you’ve had enough of the sticky bun, this is your next plantain adventure.
Plantain Tarte Tatin Recipe
Just as impressive as homemade pie, but way more surprising
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Published Oct 23, 2024
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Lauren V. Allen/Bodega Bakes
Pie—whether it’s pumpkin, pecan or apple—is always invited to the holiday feast, but it’s not exactly the most original dessert idea. This fall and winter, opt for the less expected (but just as delicious) plantain tarte tatin from Paola Velez’s new cookbook, Bodega Bakes: Recipes for Sweets and Treats Inspired by My Corner Store. (It's also a lower-effort alternative to her popular pecan-plantain sticky buns.)
“If you’re anything like me and have so many plantains around that a good portion of them get too ripe too soon,” Velez writes, “this is the perfect recipe. When you’ve had enough of the sticky bun, this is your next plantain adventure.”
Tarte tatin is a French dessert that’s traditionally made with apples. While plantains stand in for them in here, the rest is deliciously standard: butter, sugar, spices and a drool-worthy pan caramel that basically prepares itself.
Recipes reprinted with permission from Bodega Bakes: Recipes for Sweets and Treats Inspired by My Corner Store by Paola Velez © 2024. Published by Union Square & Co. Photographs © 2024 Lauren V. Allen.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons coconut oil
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, softened and divided
3 extra-ripe plantains, peeled and cut into 1½-inch-thick rounds
4 to 6 tablespoons coconut water, divided
½ cup lightly packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch of kosher salt
14 ounces frozen, store-bought puff pastry (or 12 ounces homemade puff pastry)
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large nonstick pot, melt the coconut oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium heat. Place the plantains in the pot, cut-side down, and cook them until lightly golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Add 3 tablespoons of the coconut water and cover the pot.
2. Cook until the plantains are completely soft, adding more coconut water as needed if the pot starts looking dry before the plantains have adequately softened, about 4 minutes. Once the plantains are soft, increase the heat to high to cook off any remaining coconut water.
3. Reduce the heat to medium and add 1 tablespoon of the butter, the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and salt. Lightly toss to coat the plantains.
4. Spread the rest of the butter evenly over the surface of a 10-inch, oven-safe skillet, preferably cast iron. (Alternatively, spread the butter over a baking sheet in a circle where the tarte will go.) Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the butter and arrange the plantains on top of the circle of butter and sugar, packing them in tight to fill every nook and cranny.
5. If you’re using homemade puff pastry, roll it out to ¼-inch thick and at least 11 inches square. Lay the pastry over the plantains, then trim it into a circle that extends 1 inch beyond the edges of the plantains (it will shrink as it bakes). Tuck the pastry in around the plantains, between them and the pan. Pierce the pastry once with a paring knife to create a vent for steam.
6. Bake until you see the pan caramel bubbling through the sides and the puff pastry is crispy, deep golden and baked all the way through, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove it from the oven and cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
7. Place a serving platter larger than the skillet over the tart and carefully flip the platter and the skillet over together to remove the tart from the pan, being careful not to burn yourself with the pan caramel. Cool slightly before serving.
Nutrition Facts
640 calories
36g fat
79g carbs
6g protein
36g sugars
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Note: The information shown is Edamam's estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.