Roasted Pineapple Tart
When it comes to making desserts for myself, I usually chose something with fruit. (I am one of those odd people who doesn’t love chocolate). In the summer months when berries and melons and stone fruits are wonderfully sweet and in season, I don’t have any problems creating fruit desserts. The winter months, however, are a different story with limited produce options. Yet, even though our temperatures sink below zero, the tropics are ever-producing. Due to vast globalization, we can now get our hands on tropical fruits that were previously unavailable. Most tropical fruits have more than one peak season, and therefore you can still get a great pineapple or mango at your grocery store in the middle of winter. (I will admit this goes against my attempt to buy locally and use what’s in season – but I am just not ready to give up tropical fruits all together, so yes, I pay to ship them half way around the world to arrive neatly packaged at my local grocery store. I’m not proud of it, but I’m human).
So when I crave a fruity dessert and my seasonal produce is lacking, tropical fruit is always a good bet. I decided on pineapple for my latest tart creation (I had never made a pineapple tart before) and decided to spice it up by roasting the fruit before cutting and using in the tart. The roasting process (along with the yummy basting liquid of rum, brown sugar, and butter) concentrates and enhances the sweetness of a pineapple. Wonderful on their own, roasted pineapples are even better. The sugar in the cooking liquid helps to give the pineapple a slight caramelization and the rum – well that doesn’t need explaining – it just makes everything better.
Because the pineapple is so sweet, I chose a tangy filling for the tart. I used creme fraiche (a slightly thicker, less sweet version of sour cream. You can find in your speciality cheese section of a grocery store) and folded in lightly sweetened whipped cream. The tang of the creme fraiche, lightened with the soft cream creates a creamy, yet not-to-sweet accompaniment to the caramelized pineapple. Certainly a great fruit dessert for the middle of winter!
Recipe: Roasted Pineapple Tart
Gorgeous!
I’m so glad to have this recipe…while I am a chocoholic, pineapple is one of my favorites in any season. I would use light rum here, but would like to know which you used.
I used dark rum in this recipe, and tend to grab for dark in most of my recipes. (I really only keep light rum in the house for the occasional mojito in the summer) I like the added flavor that the aging of dark rum lends to the dish – its spicier and has a sweet caramel flavor.
Ahhh, I know that flavor of dark rum…my grandmother put a little of it into her afternoon cup of tea (with lemon and a tiny bit of sugar)
That’s a seventy year old memory of cold New York winter afternoons.
This recipe is delicious. I personally do not like desserts overly sweet and your use of the creme fraiche was ideal.