Bananas Foster
Caramelized bananas in a buttery brown sugar sauce with warm spices, flambéed tableside and served over vanilla ice cream. A showstopping New Orleans dessert that's easier than it looks.
- Total time
- 15 min
- Servings
- 2
- Calories
- 412
- Protein
- 3g
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons dark rum
- 2 whole bananas, firm but ripe
- 1 pint vanilla ice cream
Instructions
- 1
Peel both bananas and place them on a cutting board with one end pointing away from you. Cut each banana lengthwise in half, then cut each half lengthwise again, creating four long strips per banana.
- 2
Scoop vanilla ice cream into two bowls, about 2 tablespoons per bowl, and place them in the freezer so the ice cream stays cold until needed.
- 3
Place the 12-inch skillet on the stove and set the heat to medium. Add 3 tablespoons butter and let it melt, about 45 seconds, until the surface is foamy and slides easily when you tilt the pan.
- 4
Add 3 tablespoons brown sugar to the melted butter and stir constantly with a wooden spoon for 30 seconds until the mixture looks wet and clumpy, like damp sand.
- 5
Sprinkle 0.25 teaspoon cinnamon and 0.125 teaspoon nutmeg over the sugar mixture and stir for 15 seconds until the spices smell strongly fragrant and are evenly mixed in.
- 6
Carefully arrange all eight banana strips flat in a single layer in the hot sauce, curved-side down, making sure each piece touches the bottom of the skillet.
- 7
Let the bananas cook undisturbed for 90 seconds until the bottoms turn golden brown and smell caramelized, like warm butterscotch.
- 8
Using tongs, carefully flip each banana strip over and cook for another 60 seconds until the second side is also golden brown and the sauce is bubbling around the edges.
- 9
Remove the skillet from the heat and let it sit for 10 seconds so the flames will be less intense when the rum ignites.
- 10
Pour 3 tablespoons rum into the skillet away from your face, then carefully tilt the skillet toward a lit match or lighter held just above the surface to ignite the rum, creating flames.
- 11
Let the flames burn for 15 seconds while watching safely from a distance, then gently shake the skillet back and forth to help the flames subside naturally.
- 12
Stir 0.5 teaspoon vanilla extract into the sauce until evenly mixed, about 5 seconds.
- 13
Remove the bowls of ice cream from the freezer and place one bowl to the left of each plate or serving bowl.
- 14
Spoon 4 banana strips and 2 tablespoons of warm caramel sauce over each bowl of ice cream, arranging the banana pieces in a crisscross pattern on top.
- 15
Serve immediately so the warm bananas and sauce soften the ice cream as the diner eats.
Tools you’ll need
- 12-inch stainless steel or cast iron skillet
- wooden spoon
- tongs
- cutting board
- chef's knife
- ice cream scoop
- two serving bowls or small plates
- long-handled lighter or matches
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