BROWNED BANANA AND MACADAMIA TART
Filling
1 ½ tablespoons butter
¼ vanilla bean
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 egg plus 1 yolk
1 tablespoon dark rum
½ stick melted butter
1/2 cup sugar plus 1/3 cup sliced almonds finely ground fine in a food processor
7 sheets phyllo dough
4 large or 5 small bananas, thickly sliced
1 ½ cup macadamia nuts, lightly toasted, roughly chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To make the filling: melt the butter with scraped vanilla bean over medium-low heat until browned bits appear on bottom. Mix together the sugars in a mixing bowl. Add remaining filling ingredients, including the browned butter, and stir until combined. Remove vanilla bean.
Place a 10-inch springform pan ring (without the bottom) on a parchment covered sheet pan. Brush a sheet of phyllo with melted butter and place over ring. Sprinkle lightly with almond sugar. Layer the next 5 sheets, brushing each first with butter and then sprinkling with almond sugar, arranging each at an angle to the last to form a pinwheel. Brush the last sheet and place on top. (Do not sprinkle final layer with the almond sugar.)
Gently lift edges of dough so that the bottom rests on the bottom of the sheet pan, forming a crust. All the edges of phyllo should be tucked inside the tart ring. Drizzle ¼ cup of filling onto bottom. Arrange sliced bananas in a single layer over the crust, filling the tart shell. Top with macadamia nuts and drizzle another ¼ cup filling on top.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven, carefully remove springform ring and return to oven. Bake until sides are golden, about 5 to 10 minutes longer.
