Bananas Foster is a dessert that originated in New Orleans. It consists of bananas cooked in butter, brown sugar and rum is added

and is ignited. If you have ever ordered it in a fancy restaurant, the flambé is quite the show! This recipe is a home version

with all the complex flavors of the original desert with a moist crumb cake. Baking them in individual ramekins make for a

 beautiful presentation and is perfect for a dinner party. Trust me, make extra – your guests will want seconds. Serve with good

vanilla ice cream to complete this decadent dessert.

Recipe

Makes 4

• 7 tbsp unsalted butter, sliced into 7 and allowed to soften at room temperature
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 4 tbsp dark rum, preferably Jamaican – Meyers’s or Appleton
• 1 firm, ripe banana, sliced  1/8-1/4 inch thin
• 1/4 cup low fat buttermilk
• 1 large egg+ 1 yolk
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp double acting baking powder
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• Vanilla ice cream for serving, if desired

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees – if using convection 325 degrees
2. Grease 4 ramekins with butter – place on a parchment lined baking sheet and set aside
3. Melt 3 tbsp butter over low heat, add 3 tbsp dark brown sugar until incorporated, turn off heat, add 1 tbsp rum
4. Add 1 tbsp of mixture to each ramekin
5. Arrange banana slices as pictured
6. Combine remaining rum, buttermilk, whole egg, egg yolk and vanilla bean paste in a medium bowl
7. In another bowl, mix remaining brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon
8. Add remaining 4 tbsp butter to ingredients in 7, mix at low speed for a couple of minutes to a crumb consistency
9. Add ingredients in 6, beat at medium speed until light and fluffy
10. Spoon batter into the prepared ramekins
11. Bake for ~ 20 minutes – rotate sheet pan halfway if not using convection bake oven setting
12. Loosen edge of cake from ramekin with a paring knife, invert on plate, add ice cream and serve