Bananas Foster Pastry Food

BANANAS FOSTER BAKED FRENCH TOAST

Steps:

• Place butter in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave, covered, until melted, 30-45 seconds. Stir in brown sugar, cream, cinnamon, allspice and, if desired, pecans. Add bananas; toss gently to coat., Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Arrange bread over top, trimming to fit as necessary., Place remaining ingredients in a blender; process just until blended. Pour over bread. Refrigerate, covered, 8 hours or overnight., Preheat oven to 375°. Remove French toast from refrigerator while oven heats. Bake, uncovered, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Let stand 5-10 minutes. Invert to serve.

BANANAS FOSTER

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the brown sugar. Stir together and cook for a minute or two. Pour in the cream and stir it around to combine.
• Peel the bananas and slice them on the bias inside the peel. Drop the slices into the pan. Next, add the chopped nuts and stir them into the sauce. Then - and this is where you need to be a little careful - stir in the rum. Let it start to bubble, and then carefully use a long lighter to ignite it. (Be sure to have a lid handy in case you need to extinguish the flame.) Let the fire burn and go out (it'll only take about 30 seconds or so), and then stir in the cinnamon at the end. You may also cook the mixture without flambeing it.
• Spoon it over a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream and enjoy immediately.
• Spoon bananas Foster over French toast, waffles or crepes. Substitute peaches, pears or cherries for the bananas. Of course, then it probably wouldn't be considered bananas Foster.

CLASSIC BANANAS FOSTER

Steps:

• Peel the bananas and slice them about 1 inch thick on a long bias. Heat the sugar, butter and cinnamon together in a medium skillet over medium heat until bubbling. Add the bananas and stir gently to coat. Add the rum and carefully ignite the alcohol with a stick lighter. Step back and let the alcohol burn off. Continue to cook, stirring gently, until the sauce has thickened a little bit and the bananas are slightly softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Divide the bananas and sauce between 2 small bowls. Top with ice cream and serve immediately.

BANANAS FOSTER II

Steps:

• In a large, deep skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in sugar, rum, vanilla and cinnamon. When mixture begins to bubble, place bananas and walnuts in pan. Cook until bananas are hot, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve at once over vanilla ice cream.

BANANAS FOSTER

Steps:

• Slice the bananas in half lengthwise and brush with the lemon juice. Melt the butter with the sugar in a flat chafing dish or 10-inch skillet. Add the bananas and sauté until just tender. Sprinkle with the cinnamon.
• Remove from the heat and add liqueur and rum. Carefully ignite with a long match. Use a large long-handled spoon to baste the bananas with the warm liquid until the flame burns out.
• Divide the ice cream among four dishes. Top each one with a banana half and some of the sauce. Serve immediately.

BANANAS FOSTER PASTRY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Spread defrosted pastry sheet on a baking sheet. Bake 10 minute or until golden. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire rack.
• Slice bananas into 1/4" discs.
• Combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, rum, butter, lemon juice and cinnamon in skillet over low heat. Bring mixture to a boil. Cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minute. Remove from heat, then add bananas and toss to coat.
• Mix sour cream and remaining brown sugar. Spoon banana mixture over cooled pastry. Top with sour cream mixture. Cut into wedges and serve.

UPSIDE-DOWN BANANAS FOSTER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter just the sides of a 9-inch round cake pan.
• For the caramel topping: Stir the sugar and 1/3 cup water in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Stop stirring, and gently swirl the saucepan occasionally until the mixture is the color of deep amber, 8 to 9 minutes. If needed, brush any sugar crystals off the side of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Remove the saucepan from the heat, and carefully whisk in the butter (take care: the mixture can bubble up considerably). Pour the caramel into the prepared cake pan, tilting the pan to cover most of the bottom (be careful: the pan will be very hot from the caramel). Arrange the bananas in a single, tight layer, then cover any gaps with the remaining slices.
• For the cake: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together the milk and sour cream in a small bowl.
• Beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on medium-high speed in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down the side of the bowl as needed, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low, and add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the milk-sour cream mixture, mixing until just incorporated.
• Pour the batter over the bananas in the cake pan, and spread evenly. Bake the cake until it is golden brown and bounces back when pressed and a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean when inserted in the center, 50 to 60 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to separate it from the pan. Poke the cake all over with a skewer, and brush the cake with the rum. Let cool in the pan on a rack until just cool enough to handle, 20 to 30 minutes. Invert a serving platter over the cake pan and, while holding them together, quickly flip them over so the cake unmolds, banana-side up. Let cool completely. Cut into wedges, and serve.