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Fire has a transformative power on food, and a sweet treat becomes even more special if it’s created tableside with fire. Ina Garten recently brought up a beloved, nostalgic dessert on Instagram, and it’s inspired me to revisit this dish famously made with fire.
When I was in college, I waited tables at the local country club, and I was required to make bananas Foster at the dining table—a flambé. I wheeled a cart with a small propane stove to the table, and on the stove sat a pan with bananas, sugar, and rum. I would light the flame with a match and tip the pan so the rum caught fire. By the time the alcohol burned away and the fire died, caramelized bananas in a sweet syrup emerged, transformed by the fire.
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It was incredibly stressful, and I haven’t made bananas Foster since I left that job. But I have ordered the dessert, which is traditionally served over vanilla ice cream, in many restaurants because it is heavenly. And, after seeing Ina’s post about bananas Foster, I think I’m ready to light some rum on fire again—this time at the end of a dinner party I host.
Ina Garten Asks Fans for a Bananas Foster Recipe
In her Instagram post, the queen of “sometimes store-bought is fine” shared a video with a pan of bananas and rum on a stove being set on fire. In the caption, Ina wrote, “We’re playing with fire today! Does anyone have a great bananas Foster recipe they can recommend?”
Of course, her fans have wonderful memories of dining out and having bananas Foster for dessert. One person got engaged at a restaurant between dinner and devouring the dessert. One fan commented about how they “loved the theatre” of the dessert. (That would be the part that brought me stress!)
Another fan, @otisbgemstonejewelry, mentioned they love setting the dessert on fire in front of guests because it’s such a "flex." They also shared the recipe they use, which involves melting butter with brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt until it becomes syrupy, then cooking the bananas in it for a minute before adding rum or vodka and lighting the whole thing on fire.
Ice cream is the usual choice to accompany the deeply caramelized bananas, but it’s not the only choice. You can serve bananas Foster on top of many foods, including waffles or pancakes, pound cake, or go for a double New Orleans dessert and serve on top of beignets.
While simple in construction, once you fire up the pan, the recipe moves very quickly so it’s important to stay close to the stove. If you need some extra guidance, check out our step-by-step video so you can also have a showstopping dessert to keep up your sleeve.
And, taking inspiration from Ina, when I do have a dinner party and wow my guests with bananas Foster skills honed decades ago, I will go store-bought with whatever I serve the dessert over.
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