Pineapple Tarte Tatin with Rum Caramel Sauce

Equipment: 23cm oven-safe frying pan. Cut a disc of pastry to ½cm bigger than the diameter of the pan, place it on a sheet of baking paper and refrigerate.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Remove the pineapple skin and cut it into rings, removing the hard central core with a small sharp knife.

Put the sugar in the frying pan with 1 teaspoon of water and cook over a medium heat until the sugar starts to turn pale golden and caramelise. Remove from the heat, add the butter and whisk to combine. It will look split and horrible at this point but it will be fine!

Arrange the pineapple rings, slightly overlapping, on top of the caramel syrup and place the chilled pastry disc on top. Tuck the edges of the pastry firmly around the pineapple and cut a few slits in the pastry with the tip of a sharp knife. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is deeply golden and crisp.

Allow the tarte tatin to cool for 15 minutes before inverting carefully but quickly onto a serving plate. Serve with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and a drizzle of rum caramel sauce, if desired. Serves 6

Rum Caramel Sauce

Fantastic with the tarte tatin, this sauce also elevates sautéed bananas in crêpes or a simple ice cream sundae to the next level (it’s also great with the Ginger Caramel Crunch Ice Cream).

1½ cups caster sugar
¼ cup water
1 cup cream
30 grams butter, chopped
2-3 tablespoons dark rum

Put the caster sugar and water in a clean pot over a medium heat and whisk to start dissolving the sugar. Use a small pastry brush to brush down any sugar that gets stuck to the side of the pot to stop it burning. Bring to a simmer, giving the pot a gentle swirl now and again to help it heat evenly. The sugar will slowly become white and crystallised, then start to turn clear and finally turn a pale golden amber. This can take up to 10 minutes.

As soon as the sugar turns golden, add the cream in four lots, whisking hard after each addition. The caramel will froth up madly but keep whisking and it will settle down. Whisk in the butter and rum and leave to cool. You can store the sauce in the fridge for up to a week, reheat it gently to serve. Makes about 2 cups