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Bananas Foster
Bananas flambéed in brown sugar, butter and rum over ice cream
Bananas Foster was invented in the 1950s at a family restaurant in the French Quarter, when New Orleans was the main port for bananas from Central America, and it is still flamed at the table there for birthday dinners. Bananas are cooked in butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, then flambéed with dark rum and banana liqueur and spooned over vanilla ice cream. It contains alcohol; for an alcohol-free version replace the rum and liqueur with 4 tbsp orange juice and a few drops of rum flavouring and skip the flaming. Chef's tip: use bananas that are ripe but still firm, or they turn to mush.
- Total time
- 15 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 2 ⅛ oz butter
- 3 ½ oz soft dark brown sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 4 firm ripe bananashalved lengthways and across
- 2 tbsp banana liqueur
- ¼ cup dark rum
- 4 scoops vanilla ice cream
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Melt the 2 ⅛ oz butter in a wide frying pan over a medium heat, stir in the 3 ½ oz soft dark brown sugar and ½ tsp ground cinnamon and cook 2 minutes until bubbling and syrupy.
3 minStep 2: Add the 4 firm ripe bananas cut side down and cook 1–2 minutes a side, until they soften at the edges and glaze.
4 minStep 3: Take the pan off the heat, pour in the 2 tbsp banana liqueur and ¼ cup dark rum, return to the heat and carefully light with a long match, standing back. Spoon the sauce over until the flames die out. A common mistake is pouring rum from the bottle into a pan near the flame; measure it into a cup first.
2 minStep 4: Put the 4 scoops vanilla ice cream into bowls and spoon the bananas and hot sauce over. Serve at once.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 58 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bananas Foster take?
- About 15 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of soft dark brown sugar?
- White sugar + 1 tbsp molasses or treacle per 200g.
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Perfect for:Date night