Bananas foster is a straightforward dessert designed to impress and entertain! Coat the fruit in a cinnamon caramel sauce, then flambé with rum to caramelize the elements. Pair with a beneficiant scoop of vanilla ice cream and serve.

Desk of Contents

1. What’s bananas foster?
2. Put together the fruit
3. Two varieties of alcohol
4. Pan choice
5. Make a caramel sauce
6. Saute the bananas
7. Igniting the rum
8. The flambé approach
9. Flambé security ideas
10. Does the alcohol cook dinner out of bananas foster?
11. Serve with ice cream
12. Different methods to take pleasure in this
13. Bananas Foster Recipe

Bananas foster is one among my favourite desserts to order when visiting New Orleans. It’s a easy mixture of agency, but ripe bananas, glazed with a brown sugar rum sauce. The trickiest half is igniting the alcohol, however don’t fear, I’ll present you the step-by-step means of mastering the flambé approach.

What’s bananas foster?

This dessert was made well-known in 1951, on the iconic French Creole restaurant, Brennen’s, by Chef Paul Blangé. He named his creation after Richard Foster, the New Orleans Crime Fee chairman, a loyal patron, and buddy to Owen Brennan. You’ll be able to order a bananas foster at any of the Brennan’s restaurant places, and a workers member will make it tableside proper in entrance of you.

The bananas first saute in melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and banana liqueur for a extra sturdy taste. Then fastidiously, they flambé it with rum to ignite the flames. A dusting of cinnamon fills the air with heat baked aromas. They serve it over scoops of vanilla ice cream for an exquisite distinction in temperatures.

Put together the fruit

You need ripe bananas, however ones nonetheless agency sufficient to remain intact when sauteing. The peel needs to be yellow, with a number of brown speckles and no remaining inexperienced on the highest. Search for medium-sized bananas, about 7 to eight inches lengthy (excluding the highest stalk).

You’ll reduce them into quarters, so that you need beneficiant sized items which are simple to maneuver within the pan. Alternatively, in the event you like the looks of complete bananas, use a smaller measurement, 4 to five inches in size. About 2 to three complete items reduce in half will match within the pan.

Two varieties of alcohol

Banana liqueur intensifies the dish’s fruity style. It’s fairly delicate at about 25% alcohol by quantity. This product is sweetened with sugar and flavored with banana extract. It’s distinctive to the recipe, so I don’t counsel substituting it with anything.

Rum provides taste to the dessert, nevertheless it’s primarily to flambé the banana. The alcohol stage is sort of double, 40%, which makes it a lot simpler to ignite. I exploit a darkish rum aged in oak. I discover that it has some vanilla and toasted almond notes to enrich the caramel sauce. Alternatively, you should use white rum for a lighter, extra clear taste.

Pan choice

Use a big 12-inch saute pan with sloped sides. This sort prevents the contents from spilling over and helps to comprise the flame. I discover that chrome steel pans work the perfect.

Make a caramel sauce

I exploit unsalted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. The elements cook dinner over medium warmth till the fats melts and sugar dissolves. The sugar will caramelize and get stickier between 320 to 350ºF (160 to 177ºC).

I exploit darkish brown sugar for a stronger molasses taste. Nevertheless, you should use mild or golden brown sugar for a much less intense style. If you’d like a extra salted caramel taste, add ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon of kosher or sea salt.

Saute the bananas

Coat the banana slices in caramel sauce and banana liqueur to taste the items. Prepare dinner till the flesh softens on each side and the sauce additional concentrates. After a couple of minutes, this creates a sticky glaze on the floor and a extra tender texture.

Igniting the rum

Flaming the fruit is what makes this dessert particular. After the bananas cook dinner within the sauce, it’s finest to show off the warmth and pour the rum on prime. Then instantly flip the warmth to medium to boost the alcohol temperature. 

At room temperature, alcohol remains to be beneath its flash level and won’t mild. As the warmth will increase, the vapor stress evaporates the alcohol round 172°F (78°C). That’s when you may ignite the rum. Solely let it heat for not more than 5 seconds. If an excessive amount of alcohol evaporates, it is not going to mild. Working rapidly is crucial!

The flambé approach

Utilizing a high-proof spirit creates a small combustion impact within the pan to create a flame. You can begin the method by both tilting the sting of the pan over the burner of a fuel vary or bringing a long-reach lighter to the pan’s aspect, simply above the sauce. That is the most well liked half, with essentially the most vapors.

As soon as lit, shake the pan over the warmth till the flames subside. Sprinkle some floor cinnamon over the flambé, identical to at Brennan’s. The room will fill with scrumptious heat spice aromas. It’s beautiful! This cooking approach leaves a delicate style of the liquor and a deeper caramelized taste.

Flambé security ideas

• Roll up your sleeves, hold unfastened clothes away from the pan, tie lengthy hair again. 
• Keep away from having any further burners on.
• Would not have the fan above on, or it might suck up the vapors, making the flame larger.
• By no means pour the alcohol straight from the bottle into the new pan. The flame can comply with the alcohol vapors again into the bottle and break. 
• Flip the warmth off earlier than including the rum to stop the vapors from igniting too rapidly and burning your hand.
• Maintain no less than an arms-length when lighting the alcohol within the pan, by no means leaning too shut. 
• Have a big metallic lid helpful to smother and extinguish the flame.
• Maintain onlookers at a protected distance, by no means doing the flambé on the dinner desk or strolling with an ignited pan.

Does the alcohol cook dinner out of bananas foster?

Because the banana liqueur cooks and the rum flambés, some however not all, of the alcohol will evaporate and burn off. About 75 to 85% might stay since it is a quickfire dessert. It might take 2 to three hours to cut back the alcohol to five% [Source]. Moreover, the butter’s fats within the sugar combination can even lower the ethanol diffusion fee, decreasing the quantity of alcohol evaporated within the dish.

The dish’s taste isn’t too boozy if that’s a priority. There’s solely a touch of alcohol style. If you wish to drive off the alcohol additional, take away the bananas after flaming and proceed to warmth the sauce for a number of extra minutes.

Serve with ice cream

To enhance the new fruit, the dish is historically served with a beneficiant scoop of ice cream within the plate’s heart. The bananas are organized on the aspect, 4 items per plate, after which drizzle with the nice and cozy caramel sauce. Be certain that to take pleasure in it instantly!

Different methods to take pleasure in this