If you wish to impress your guests, flambe a dessert. Bananas Foster may be served flambe-style, though it is not necessary. If you’ve never had Bananas Foster, now is your chance. It is extremely delicious and easy to make. The caramel sauce is simply made with butter, brown sugar, and a couple of alcohols. Traditionally served over vanilla ice cream, enjoy this gluten free bananas foster over bread pudding, waffles, French toast, in crepes, and my favorite, wait for it…over cheesecake. You can also serve the caramelized bananas alone with just the sauce. To die for! If you do not light the alcohol or cook it off, you’ll feel as if you had a cocktail or two! – Just warning you.
A classic, yet gluten free bananas foster recipe that cannot do you wrong. (Just be sure to practice prior to performing in front of guests.) The homemade banana liqueur is just amazing! You may decide to have it for dessert instead.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar*
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup Gluten Free Banana Liqueur Recipe
- 2 large, firm, ripe bananas
- 1/2 cup dark rum**
Instructions:
- Measure and prepare all ingredients, except for bananas. (You don’t want them to brown.) If using this recipe to top vanilla ice cream, scoop the ice cream onto a flat, freezable surface, such as a baking dish, hours in advance. You want the ice cream to freeze solid and be ready to transfer to shallow serving bowls.
- Melt butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add brown sugar and cinnamon; stir to combine.
- Once the butter and sugar combine, remove from heat. Stir in banana liqueur, and return to low heat. Simmer 3 to 5 minutes or until thick enough to coat bananas.
- Quickly slice the bananas diagonally. Add them to the skillet.
- While the bananas cook, microwave dark rum on high for 30 - 40 seconds. Alternatively, you may heat*** the rum in a saucepan until it reaches 130°F. You'll see bubbles beginning to form. (Important: If the rum is not hot, it will not ignite. However, be sure not to boil or simmer the rum as this will cause the alcohol to evaporate, and it will not light.)
- Important: Just in case the flames do not go out, have the lid to the skillet nearby to cover the pan, which will distinguish the fire. (If this sounds too difficult or scary, omit the lighting and just simmer the mixture until the sauce thickens.) Remove bananas and butter/sugar mixture from heat, pour in dark rum. Using a long lighter or long match, light the sauce. Quickly retract the lighter or match. The flames usually go out automatically in several seconds. If they do not, swirl the sauce in the pan to reduce the flames. If necessary, cover with the lid. The flames burn off some of the alcohol content****. If you are not presenting it to others, you can choose to cook the mixture once you add the rum until the alcohol evaporates, about 1 – 2 minutes. If the sauce is too runny, remove the bananas and continue to cook over medium-high heat, stirring continuously until thick.
- Serve over scoops of vanilla ice cream, waffles, French toast, or in crepes. Serve immediately. Cover and refrigerate leftovers. Refrigerate leftover sauce in a covered container up to one month.
Tips
*When using light rum, be sure to use dark brown sugar.
**If you use light rum, the recipe will still work, but will have a slightly different flavor. Dark rum has a slight caramel flavor and is dark in color.
***CAUTION: Never pour alcohol near an open flame as the flames can follow the flow of alcohol into the bottle and cause it to explode. Having a fire extinguisher nearby is recommended, especially if this is your first time flambéing something.
****The alcohol begins to burn off when heated. However, if your flame only lasts for 30 seconds or so, it is not enough to burn off all of the alcohol content. If serving to children, be sure to simmer it a bit longer.