BANANAS FOSTER is an Easy 10-Minute Dessert That Will Wow Everyone!

This bananas foster recipe is a dessert that is equally impressive with a little flambé action and super delicious with caramelized bananas nestled next to melty vanilla ice cream. So I have to tell you guys that this is one of my personal favorite desserts and I've had the pleasure of enjoying the original at Brennan's restaurant in New Orleans where it served table side and I have a little video clip of that that I will share at the end. But what I love most about this dessert is that it is shockingly simple to make. To get started, you'll need three bananas. And I recommend getting ones that are slightly underripe and a little bit green so that they hold their shape in the pan. If you use overripe bananas, they'll soften quite quickly and even become a little bit mushy. And yes, you only need three bananas, even though this recipe serves four people. And that's because after you've peeled the bananas, you'll slice them in half both horizontally and across for four quarter pieces. And then each serving will be three pieces of banana. I sliced the first one horizontally first, but it's actually easier if you slice across than slice each half into half. You're less likely to accidentally break the banana that way. So once that's all done, place them on a plate and take them over to the stove. Add six tablespoons of butter to a large pan over medium heat. Then add half a cup of coconut sugar. Brown sugar is traditionally used, so you can of course swap that in if you'd like. Then add half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, one teaspoon of vanilla extract, and a pinch of kosher salt. Whisk that for about a minute until the mixture starts to bubble. Add the bananas cut side down into the pan and cook them for about one to two minutes until they're softened and slightly caramelized. Then use a spatula to flip the bananas over. Again, if you grabbed slightly underripe bananas, you should have no problem flipping them over. But if your bananas are overly ripe to begin with, this is where you might run into some issues as softer bananas will be harder to flip and more likely to break apart. But that's also why I slice them in half across rather than keep them as full length bananas because that just makes them naturally easier to flip as well. All right, now for the fun part. Turn the heat off so there's no active flame on your burner if you're using a gas stove. And while the sauce is still bubbling, add a quarter cup of dark rum and use a long reach lighter to ignite the sauce and flambe the bananas, shaking the pan until the flame goes out. Now, my flame is usually a bit bigger than this one today, but the alcohol does burn off quickly, even if it's just sitting in the pan, including the minute it took me to refocus the camera. So if you don't want to flambe, you could let most of the alcohol burn off on its own after another minute or two of just simmering. I am obsessed with this recipe. And to say that this is an easy dessert is almost an understatement because we're talking 10 minutes from start to finish. So I'd say ridiculously easy and impressive to boot. To serve it up, place three pieces of banana into a serving bowl and don't forget to drizzle a few extra spoonfuls of that sugary rum sauce. I'll also add that the original New Orleans recipe does include a banana liqueur in addition to the rum sauce, but most people don't usually have that on hand and I think it's equally delicious without it, so I left it off. But if you happen to have it, feel free to add a splash of that as well. Dollop a large ball of vanilla ice cream on top of your warm bananas. And again, an extra drizzle of sauce is always warranted. And as that ice cream starts to melt into the sauce, that's my cue that it is time to indulge. I am so excited to take my bite today with the sweet sugary caramelized bananas and this ice cream that you can see on the edges here is getting all melty in the sauce. Let's dig in. Look at that. Get a scoop of it. I don't want to tip my bowl. So unbelievably good. I might have to go in for a second bite though, you know, just to make sure. Just to make sure that this turned out all perfect. I also love that how after you add the rum and you flambe the entire dish, that it melts kind of some of those sugar granules so the sauce actually becomes far more smooth. And as I mentioned at the beginning, I have enjoyed this at Brennan's Restaurant in New Orleans and theirs may look a little bit lighter in terms of sauce. I'll show a video here as I'm talking. And I do believe it's because they use a very light brown sugar and maybe even a little bit more butter. So if you use a darker brown sugar and or coconut sugar, you're going to have a naturally darker sauce. But the darker sauce also gives a little bit more of that just really delicious and rich caramel flavor. And if you are a family of four or if you're having a dinner party with another couple, this is four servings, which is the perfect amount. Or if you're me, you're going to enjoy these leftovers. You're going to store them. And then for after dinner tomorrow night, plop a little bit of ice cream into a bowl and probably enjoy a second batch. I hope you guys enjoyed today's video. I cannot wait to see you make this one. Be careful on the stove. Don't try to take photos while you're doing the flambe. If you enjoy it, make sure to go on my website, give it a five-star review. And with that, I will see you guys in the next video.