For my recent birthday, I made my first intentionally flaming dessert. There was another time, when I was nine, and frying doughnuts without a thermometer… Hello, fire department.

Anyway, Bananas Foster is a new favorite because it was entertaining to make, surprisingly easy, and the finished bananas and caramel were golden and delicious. Flaming desserts belong to the hungry masses.

Advice for the timid flambeer:

1. Read the whole recipe through so you don’t get caught with a flaming pot in your hand wondering what to do next!

2. Have all the ingredients ready ahead of time, since it comes together quickly.

3. Consider asking friends to help you when you get to the arson stage. One person could add the rum, another light the match, and another shake the pan.

Ingredients:

3/4 stick of butter

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

A bit of lemon peel

A cinnamon stick

2 ripe, firm bananas, peeled, split lengthwise, and halved.

1/4 c. rum

Vanilla Ice Cream

Long matches / gas stove

1. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. (I used a cast iron skillet to retain heat during the flambe stage.) Stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon stick, lemon peel, and 1 tablespoon of the rum. Cook for 2 minutes.

2. Turn the heat to medium. Add the bananas and cook for about three minutes, spooning the sauce over them. If the caramel begins to smoke or gets very bubbly, turn down the heat so that it doesn’t scorch.

3. Stir in the rest of the rum and ignite the fumes, either with a long match or by tilting the pan toward the flame on your gas stove. (Ignite it within a few seconds of adding the rum. ) Shake it vigorously until the flame dies down. That’s all! Take a bow to your cheering fans, and serve with ice cream. Serves 4.
A Final Note: The fire will go out by itself once it burns off the alcohol. But it may make you feel better to know that a close-fitting lid will also stop a fire in a pan by cutting off the air supply.

This recipe is adapted from the America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.