Name: No-Flambé Bananas Foster
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup packed (3 1/2 ounces/99 grams) dark brown sugar; 1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons gold rum; 2 tablespoons water; 1 cinnamon stick; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 3 ripe bananas , peeled, halved crosswise, then halved lengthwise; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 4 pieces; 1 teaspoon lemon juice; Vanilla ice cream

Why This Recipe Works

This iconic New Orleans dessert is usually served flambéed at tableside. To adapt this recipe for the home cook, we inverted the usual order of steps and opted to skip the flambé. Most recipes start by first combining butter and sugar, sauté- ing the bananas, and finishing with the rum. We found that the sauce stayed smoother and creamier if we approached the dessert like a pan sauce: cooking the bananas in a mixture of sugar, rum, and other flavors and then whisking in butter at the end. We like the color and deep flavor of dark brown sugar in this recipe, and while any rum will do, our tasters preferred the caramel notes of gold rum.

Before You Begin

Look for yellow bananas with very few spots; overly ripe bananas will fall apart during cooking. We prefer the flavor of gold rum, but you can substitute white or dark rum if desired.

Instructions

Combine sugar, 1/4 cup rum, water, cinnamon stick, and salt in 12-inch skillet. Cook over medium heat, whisking frequently, until sugar is dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add bananas, cut side down, to skillet and cook until glossy and golden on bottom, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Flip bananas and continue to cook until tender but not mushy, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes longer. Using tongs, transfer bananas to rimmed serving dish, leaving sauce in skillet.

Remove skillet from heat and discard cinnamon stick. Whisk butter into sauce, 1 piece at a time, until incorporated. Whisk in lemon juice and remaining 2 teaspoons rum. Pour sauce over bananas. Serve with vanilla ice cream.