Banana Flambe

For Jess’s birthday this year we were having a huge waffle brunch complete with walnut waffles, maple sausages and Banana Flambé. I wanted the mix of waffle, sausage and fruit to be reminiscent of eating banana bread or banana bread pudding. I have never flambéed anything (on purpose) and wanted to give it a go since I would be cooking on a real gas burner. This is a super easy recipe and you can easily skip the flaming part and just have some fried bananas to take your breakfast to the next level. They would also be great on ice cream. They have earned the name Flam-bitches from my father in law who was surprised that they turned out and that I still had my eyebrows.

 

 

Ingredients:

·         Four near ripe bananas (it is good if they are a little hard because then they won’t fall apart)

·         2 tbsp brown sugar

·         Sprinkle of cinnamon

·         2 shot Grand Marnier

·         1 tbsp butter

·         1 tsp pancake syrup

Directions:

Peel the bananas and cut them length wise. Sprinkle the flat side with the sugar and cinnamon. On medium/high heat melt the butter and place the bananas flat side down. The sugar will start to caramelize as they soften. When they soften and the sugar has become syrupy pour in the Grand Marnier. In the interest of safety do not pour directly out of the bottle. To light the alcohol for the flambé tilt the pan towards the flame and it should flame up. If this does not flame it is not really a big deal because the alcohol will burn off anyways. Being the idiot that I am I poured from the bottle while holding the pan at an angle and put on a pretty good show. Once the flame burnt out I drizzled them with the syrup and they were ready to serve.