Get ready to go wild over these delicious banana flambe sundaes! I caramelize ripe bananas into syrupy goodness and top it over cold vanilla ice cream. This flambe banana recipe is awesome in so many ways!
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I overbought bananas this week, which is pretty common for me. I love bananas, and including bananas in many of my gluten free banana recipes. This time I decided not to bake because it is already getting hot here in the Bay Area. I decided to try a copycat of a dessert I had a couple of years ago.
Ripe bananas cooked in brown sugar, honey, cinnamon, and cardamom come out with a thick caramel-like syrup. This is my new favorite topper for ice cream!
This is my new summer favorite! If you love ice cream as much as we do, you will want to check out all of my gluten free ice cream recipes on the blot!
Why this recipe is great:
This recipe is one of my favorites. It is full of caramelized sweet banana flavor. You can make this flambe bananas recipe with whole, sliced, or mashed ripe bananas. It is delicious over ice cream or add on top of my gluten free brownies with ice cream and bananas.
Top this delicious dessert with my sweet cinnamon candied walnuts!!
Ingredients notes:
- Bananas - The riper, the better! See below for easy tips to ripen your bananas if you need them riper.
- Honey - There is no need to use expensive honey for this recipe. Use a cheap one as it won't affect the final flavor.
- Butter - To make this recipe dairy-free, use vegan butter.
How to ripen bananas:
- Place your bananas on a baking sheet and bake at 225º F for 20 minutes.
- If you aren't in a hurry, you can put your bananas in a brown paper bag and let them sit on the counter. (Don't forget to close the bag!)
- You can grill the bananas. Just slit down the skin and place on a grill. Close the lid and cook at 300º F for 15 minutes.
Recipe step by step directions:
Step 1: In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sugar and cinnamon and stir until all the sugar melts.
Step 2: Add the sliced bananas, cardamom, and vanilla, and stir to blend.
Step 3: Continue to cook the banana mixture on low heat while the sauce thickens. Flambe is optional, if you choose NOT to flambe the bananas, add the rum to step 2 with the bananas so the rum cooks down as it caramelizes.
Flambe safety tips:
The choice to flambe the bananas is totally optional. When you flambe your bananas it further cooks off the dark rum. To flambe, add the rum, then tilt the pan very slightly so the rum in the bananas catches the flame. (You can also use a LONG fireplace match to start the flame.)
- NEVER pour the alcohol into the pan from the bottle. This is dangerous. Pour the measured amount of alcohol into a small dish and pour into the pan from that.
- Have a fire extinguisher handy on the counter just in case. There is so little alcohol, it burns off very quickly in just 3-4 seconds.
Step 4: Allow to cool to warm and serve over ice cream.
Tips and Recipe FAQ:
You can use different fruits like apples or pineapple in this recipe.
I used dark rum because it works with the ripe caramelized banana flavors. You can also use brandy.
Yes, hard alcohol is gluten free. The gluten is removed in the distillation process.
The alcohol will cook down, but you want to make almost a reduction sauce to cook down the alcohol.
The bananas will keep up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
More delicious ice cream recipes:
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📖 Recipe
Banana Flambe Sundaes
Ingredients
- 4 ripe bananas * see note
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey * see note
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons dark rum * see note
Instructions
- In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sugar and cinnamon and stir until all the sugar melts.
- Add the sliced bananas, cardamom, vanilla, and rum and stir to blend. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes until the bananas are warm. Turn the heat to low and simmer until the sauce is thickened.
- Scoop ice cream into individual serving bowls and top with the bananas and sauce. Serve at once.
Notes
- Traditionally the bananas are sliced in half and then vertically, but you can simply slice them into bite-size rounds.
- The dark rum is optional. It will cook down if it is reduced in the banana flambe caramel sauce.
- Also, once the rum is hot, you can remove the skillet from the burner and set fire to the rum to remove the alcohol content but leave the flavor.
- This banana flambe mixture will keep up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Flambe safety tips:
The choice to flambe the bananas is totally optional. When you flambe your bananas it further cooks off the dark rum. To flambe, add the rum, then tilt the pan very slightly so the rum in the bananas catches the flame. (You can also use a LONG fireplace match to start the flame.)- NEVER pour the alcohol into the pan from the bottle. This is dangerous. Pour the measured amount of alcohol into a small dish and pour into the pan from that.
- Have a fire extinguisher handy on the counter just in case. There is so little alcohol, it burns off very quickly in just 3-4 seconds.
How to ripen bananas:
- Place your bananas on a baking sheet and bake at 225º F for 20 minutes.
- If you aren't in a hurry, you can put your bananas in a brown paper bag and let them sit on the counter. (Don't forget to close the bag!)
- You can grill the bananas. Just slit down the skin and place on a grill. Close the lid and cook at 300º F for 15 minutes.
Nutrition
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Taryn
This is one of our favorite desserts! It reminds me of bananas foster I had many years ago in New Orleans.
Sandi Gaertner
New Orleans is on my bucket list :-).
Nellie Tracy
Banana flambe is one of my favorite desserts. Such a great recipe for a make at home version! Thank you!
Sandi Gaertner
I am glad you enjoyed it :-).
Maria
I don’t know if I miss a step or something. In the ingredients it is calling for cardamom and vanilla. Sit is not mentioned in the steps when to use these ingredients. Can you help with this?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Maria, add the cardamom and vanilla with the bananas. I will clarify more in the recipe. Thank you!
Feebee
I freeze overripe bananas: can you use them from frozen?
Sandi Gaertner
That should be fine to use frozen 🙂