I spent most of my life not even considering bananas foster as a dessert option if I saw it on a menu. There was always something I wanted more, like chocolate cake. 🙂 When my family was in New Orleans having dinner at Brennan’s, we decided to order it for dessert since it was their specialty dessert. Wow. I had been ignoring this amazing dessert all these years? It really is perfection.
My son asked for it for his birthday and he also loves waffle cones, so I decided to serve it in waffle cone bowls coated with a layer of chocolate for his birthday dessert.
Bananas foster is amazingly simple to make, but the combination of the ingredients is genius. Ripe bananas, butter, brown sugar, rum, vanilla, cinnamon, ice cream…. Yum! Traditional bananas foster typically has pecans or walnuts on it. I leave the nuts out as my family likes it better that way but you can do it either way. I love pecans in this myself.
Dark rum gives more flavor here, so use it if you can. If you don’t have it, regular will work in a pinch. The traditional way to finish this dish is to pour the rum over the cooked bananas and sauce, and to light it with a lighter to let the bananas flambé until the fire goes out.
Bananas Foster
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 3 bananas peeled and halved lengthwise then crosswise
- 3 tbsp dark rum
- salt
- vanilla ice cream
- 4 waffle cone bowls
Instructions
- Heat butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a skillet over medium heat, whisking constantly until it is well combined.
- Add the vanilla and whisk. Then add the bananas cut side down, shaking the pan occasionally as they cook, until they are lightly browned 30-60 seconds.
- Turn the over and sprinkle with a little kosher salt and allow to brown for another 30-60 seconds.
- Remove from heat. Drizzle the rum over the top. Using a lighter, carefully light the rum and allow the bananas to flame until the fire goes out.
- Place a scoop of ice cream in the waffle cone bowl or a regular bowl, top with the bananas and sauce, and serve.