Gaby Dalkin of What’s Gaby Cooking tackles all things BBQ and smoking in her new book What’s Gaby Cooking: Grilling All the Things. This summery tarte Tatin is made with the help of a pellet smoker (or your oven, if you don’t have one) and fresh, sweet pineapple. “It’s sweet and syrupy with a little bad-girl edge from the smoke. And because we’re all about keeping things simple here, the recipe calls for store-bought puff pastry instead of having to make your own dough,” Dalkin writes.

A pineapple tart with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on a blue plate

Pineapple Tarte Tatin

Gaby Dalkin's recipe for a pineapple tarte tatin made with the help of a pellet smoker.

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1 15

Total Time 1 45

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Servings 4

Ingredients

1 sheet store-bought puff pastry thawed
1 medium pineapple
¼ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp corn syrup
¼ tsp ground cinnamon optional
⅛ tsp freshly grated nutmeg optional
½ tsp fine sea salt
ice cream, crème fraîche or whipped cream for serving

Instructions

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry into a 12- to 13-inch (30 to 33 cm) square. Place on the prepared baking sheet and poke it with a fork all over. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Remove the top, bottom and skin from the pineapple. Slice in half from top to bottom. Carefully remove the firm core from each half with a paring knife and cut each half into ½-inch (1.25 cm) half-moons. Lay the sliced pineapple on a baking sheet lined with paper towels, top with more paper towels and press down to blot out extra moisture. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
Preheat a pellet smoker (or your oven) to 375ºF (190ºC), load the hopper with wood pellets and let it heat up with the lid closed for at least 15 minutes. Slather the bottom of a 10-inch (25 cm) cast-iron skillet with the softened butter, sprinkle on the sugar, then add the corn syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg (if desired) and salt. Place on the grill of the smoker, close the lid and cook for 5 minutes.
Open the lid and check the sugar; give it a stir, close the lid and cook for another 5 minutes. Continue stirring every 5 minutes and then closing the lid for about 20 minutes total to develop a rich caramel. Take care not to let it burn. Starting in the centre of the pan, carefully arrange the pineapple slices around the pan, slightly overlapping. You’ll have some pineapple slices left over. You can tear them into pieces to fit if needed.
Remove the puff pastry from the refrigerator and carefully place it on top of the pineapple, tucking the edges in slightly. This won’t be perfect – it’ll be rustic!
Close the lid of the smoker and cook for 35 to 55 minutes, until the puff pastry is golden brown. (It will take about 40 minutes in the oven.) You can check a few times, but remember that every time you open the lid the temp will drop slightly, potentially extending the cooking time.
Remove the pan from the smoker, let cool for 5 minutes, then carefully turn the tarte Tatin out onto a large plate. Serve hot or warm with ice cream, crème fraîche or whipped cream.